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

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

The Gunners face Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night in the last-16 of the Champions League, while Barcelona and Bayern Munich both played their first leg on Tuesday evening.

Bayern Munich produced a breathtaking performance against Atalanta to win 6-1 away from home 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 late penalty to snatch a 1-1 draw late on in an underwhelming display from Hansi Flick’s men.

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

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

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

“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.

“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.

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

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

There is some pressure on Arsenal with many people now expecting them to get to the final after being handed what many think is the easiest side of the draw.

When asked if he challenges the players to win every Champions League match, 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 that.

“Obviously we play so many games in different competitions – in 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.”

On whether his side have learnt from last season’s run to the semi-finals, the Arsenal boss added: “Yes, you learn about the things that you did well and the reason why you are there, and the things that you can improve. But then every game and every time will be so specific that it’s so difficult to replicate.

“You can 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.”