Arsenal legend Henry raises doubts on ex-club with Champions League prediction

Thierry Henry believes Arsenal and Bayern Munich are among the top contenders for Champions League glory, explaining why they have an edge over others including Barcelona

Thierry Henry believes Bayern Munich and Arsenal are the frontrunners for Champions League glory after watching the German giants all but secure their place in the tournament quarter-finals.

The Frenchman, who is a legend at Arsenal and their all-time leading goalscorer, was slightly less enthusiastic about the chances of another of his old clubs, Barcelona, winning the tournament after watching them draw 1-1 away at Newcastle in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

But Henry does still think Barca are serious contenders to win the Champions League – even if they are not quite as consistent and well-balanced as Bayern and Arsenal, with the former thrashing Atalanta 6-1 on Tuesday night.

“I think that Bayern is way more balanced than Barcelona in terms of how they attack, how they shift places,” he told CBS Sports.

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“You will see, whoever it is – it can be the winger inside, the striker like we saw with Nicolas Jackson on the right – [Bayern] know what they need to do, they press well, they’re very difficult to beat at times.”

Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen over two legs for a quarter-final spot and are considered by many to be one of the favourites to win the competition after topping the table in the league phase.

Mikel Arteta’s men have won all eight of their games in Europe so far this term – and that consistency puts them ahead of the rest of the pack alongside Bayern, who also went unbeaten in the tournament’s first phase.

Henry added: “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 [to win 3-0] and then it could have been 6-0, 7-0, 8-0 to you.

“[Barcelona] 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.

“But that balance sometimes that they don’t have make me turn a tiny bit more to Bayern and Arsenal.”

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