Arsenal Legend Names Gunners Among Champions League Favourites

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has backed the Gunners as one of the top contenders to win this season’s Champions League, placing them ahead of Barcelona in his assessment of the competition’s strongest sides.

The former striker made his comments following Tuesday night’s Champions League last-16 action, where Barcelona could only manage a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle United despite dominating possession for large periods.

Arsenal face their own first leg test on Wednesday night when they travel to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen, with the north London side arriving as the only team to win all eight of their league phase matches.

Henry Questions Barcelona’s Consistency

Speaking to CBS Sports, Henry raised concerns about Barcelona’s ability to produce consistent performances at the highest level, pointing to their recent form as evidence of their vulnerability.

“I think that Bayern is way more balanced than Barcelona in terms of how they attack, how they shift places,” Henry explained. “It looks like at Barcelona sometimes, you have the tie against Atletico in the Copa del Rey where they lost 4-0 and it could’ve been 6-0 or 7-0 to Atletico, then you bring it back to Barca and then it could have been 6-0, 7-0, 8-0 to you.”

The Arsenal icon specifically highlighted the tactical discipline and versatility of both the Gunners and Bayern Munich, who demolished Atalanta 6-1 in their own last-16 first leg on Tuesday.

Arteta’s Perfect European Campaign

Arsenal’s flawless Champions League campaign so far has clearly impressed Henry, with Mikel Arteta’s side showcasing the kind of consistency that the Frenchman believes Barcelona currently lacks.

The Gunners topped their league phase group with maximum points, defeating the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Sporting CP along the way to establish themselves as genuine title contenders.

“They need to find that consistency and that balance if they want to win and be considered one of the hot favourites to win it – I still think they are,” Henry said of Barcelona. “But that balance sometimes that they don’t have make me turn a tiny bit more to Bayern and Arsenal.”

CBS Sports colleague Jamie Carragher echoed Henry’s assessment, suggesting both Bayern Munich and Arsenal would defeat Barcelona in a direct matchup at this stage of the competition.

Arsenal’s trip to the BayArena represents their first major test since their perfect group stage run, with Bayer Leverkusen providing formidable opposition despite their own inconsistent domestic form this season.