Petersen eyes first-team role

Nils Petersen believes he has the quality to succeed at Bayern Munich despite struggling to make an impression since his arrival in May.

Petersen, 23, joined from Energie Cottbus for an estimated 2.5 million euros in the close season, and so far has been unable to dislodge main striker Mario Gomez at the Allianz Arena.

However, the former Carl Zeiss Jena player is not feeling discouraged, and explained that he joined Bayern to boost his chances of being selected for Germany.

“This is why you move to Bayern Munich,” he told Goal.com when asked about his prospects for representing his country.

“Everyone knows that if you succeed here, then the national team is not far away.”

“I’d be lying if I were to say that I will forever be satisfied with my current situation. There is still potential for improvement, which I would like to use in the next year.”

The forward feels has been omitted from the plans of head coach Jupp Heynckes after missing some opportunities early in the campaign.

“During the pre-season I played six out of seven games, and I played often early in the season,” he said.

“For example, I was in the starting line-up against Schalke. Recently I have not been allowed to play so often, that’s sad. But we have a lot of good players who all have a claim to playing time.”

“I knew there would be tough competition at Bayern.”

“Each player at Bayern is of high quality. You have to be confident that you will continue to develop and push into the team.”

Petersen played the full 90 minutes in Bayern’s 2-0 Champions League loss to Manchester City on Wednesday.

If Mario Gomez continues to struggle with illness, Petersen could have another chance to prove himself on Sunday when Bayern visit Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.