Henry makes Arsenal, Barcelona Champions League claim after Bayern Munich dismantle Atalanta

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes the Gunners and Bayern Munich are closer than Barcelona to winning the Champions League this season.

The Gunners face Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday evening in the Champions League round of 16, while Barcelona and Bayern Munich both play their first legs on Tuesday evening.

Bayern Munich produced a breathtaking performance against Atalanta to win 6-1 away and almost certainly book their place in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona, ​​meanwhile, could have easily been beaten by Premier League side Newcastle United, but Lamine Yamal scored a penalty late in the match to snatch a 1-1 draw at the end of the match in a disappointing performance from Hansi Flick’s men.

And Henry believes Barcelona “need to find that consistency” to compete with Arsenal and Bayern Munich in the Champions League this season.

Henry said CBS Sports: “I think Bayern are much more balanced than Barcelona in terms of how they attack, how they change places.

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“You will see, whoever it is, it can be the inside winger, the attacker as we saw with Nicolas Jackson on the right, they know what they have to do, they press well, they are sometimes very difficult to beat.

“It sometimes seems like in Barcelona you have the draw against Atletico in the Copa del Rey where they lost 4-0 and it could have been 6-0 or 7-0 for Atletico and then you take it to Barca and then it could have been 6-0, 7-0, 8-0 for you.

“They need to find that consistency and balance if they want to win and be considered one of the big favorites to win it – I still think they are.

“But that balance sometimes that they didn’t have made me look a little more towards Bayern and Arsenal.”

Jamie Carragher added: “I think Bayern or Arsenal would beat Barcelona.”

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There is some pressure on Arsenal, with many people now expecting them to qualify for the final after being handed what many believe to be the easiest team in the draw.

Asked if he challenges players to win every Champions League game, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said: “The only thing you can take is game by game and try tomorrow to be better than the opposition and earn the right to win. We always talk about it.

“Obviously we play so many games in different competitions. The next three games we’re going to play in three different competitions, against completely different opponents. You have to adapt to that. You have to, very early in the match, understand what the game is going to require, adapt to it and be better than them.”

As for whether his team has learned from last season’s qualification to the semi-finals, the Arsenal boss added: “Yes, you learn the things you did well and why you are there, and the things you can improve on. But every game and every moment will be so specific that it will be so difficult to replicate.

“You may have certain memories, but actually you have to apply your learnings in that moment, and that window is very small, so you have to be efficient. »

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