Arsenal’s Champions League campaign resumes this week as Mikel Arteta’s side take on Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16, hoping to progress into the last eight for the third consecutive season – and Micah Richards has had his say on their chances of going all the way.
The Gunners cruised to a top-eight finish in the league phase, finishing at the summit of the table after becoming the first team in the new format’s history to win all eight matches. Wins over Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid stood out, as Arteta’s outfit scored 23 goals and conceded just four.
After the play-off fixtures took place last month, Arsenal were handed a favourable draw. If they can overcome Leverkusen, a quarter-final tie against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting awaits, before a potential semi-final against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur.
Micah Richards says Arsenal are Champions League favourites
Arsenal have been impressive in Europe over the last 18 months, narrowly missing out on the final last season, before taking the league phase by storm this term. All the bookies have the Gunners as favourites to win the piece of silverware that has eluded the North London club for its entire history.
While competition from five other Premier League clubs will make things difficult, Arsenal should be well-placed to launch a serious assault on the competition and reach the latter stages at the very least. This is the feeling of former Manchester City defender and now beloved pundit Richards, who has tipped Arteta’s team to win Europe’s most prodigious club tournament this year.
“All I would say – and I don’t want to be the negative one – is they haven’t won anything just yet,” Richards said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“In terms of results, they’ve been pretty faultless, but in terms of style of play, they score a lot of set-pieces and own goals. I don’t think it’s wrong for people to pick that out, but I also don’t think it’s right for people to be negative and say Arsenal don’t play good football.
“The objective at the end of the season is to win the league; who cares how you get over the line?
“They’re top of the Premier League, and I think Arsenal are the favourites for the Champions League because I think it will suit them more than the domestic games.
“I thought Man City would have the capabilities to break teams down more than Arsenal in the Premier League, but it’s not working out like that.
“Arsenal are getting some criticism, but if they win the league, who cares how they do it? The objective is to win trophies, and it’s as simple as that.”
Arsenal have been the best team in Europe this season
Richards is right: Arsenal have been criticised for their somewhat laborious style of play, but that doesn’t matter if they can win silverware. They have been lamented for years for their inability to get over the line, so the manner in which they get there will be validated if they finally do so.
This functional style has also prompted fans and pundits to underrate the Gunners. Arteta’s side aren’t entertaining people, which has made ‘the neutral’ conflate entertainment with quality.
In reality, Arsenal have been the best team in Europe this season. Playing in the most competitive league by far, they sit seven points clear, while they also excelled across eight matches in the Champions League.
| Champions League (league phase) Expected Points table | ||
| Rank | Team | xPoints |
| 1 | Arsenal | 20 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 19 |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | 17 |
| 4 | Paris Saint-Germain | 16 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 16 |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 15 |
The underlying numbers from the league phase clearly show the Gunners to be the best team, both from an attacking and from a defensive standpoint. Domestically, the North Londoners are far more focused on control and keeping the opposition at arms length, but they are exceptional at doing this.
Arteta deserves more flowers for producing the team he has.
