"It could have been better and it could have been worse," says Ray Parlour of the upcoming Champions League schedule for Arsenal.
After the drama against FC Porto, the reward for Arsenal was a tie against Bayern Munich to which Parlour expands on his initial statement.
"At this point I try to look at the clubs before the draw and I put Manchester City up as number one in my own seeding. I put Arsenal in at number two, then PSG and Bayern Munich were in my top four. So, that half of the draw is a nightmare really," Parlour sighs with a reference to the fact that the winner of Manchester City against Real Madrid awaits in the semifinal.
Meeting Bayern Munich doesn't come with fond memories for Arsenal as the Bavarians absolutely slaughtered The Gunners when they last faced off. That was in 2017 when Bayern won 5-1. Not only at home in the Allianz Arena but at the Emirates as well. In fact, Bayern beat Arsenal 5-1 in their last three meetings!
"The home game is first up, which is a little bit of a blow because I think they'll rather play at home in the return leg. Also, I think, Bayern will have all their eggs in one basket, so to speak. They're ten points behind Leverkusen and probably won't win the Bundesliga. They might rest certain players before the Champions League games, which Arsenal can't afford to do," the Arsenal hero states, before optimistically adding:
"It's a tough draw, but I do believe Arsenal can somehow get through to that semi-final.".
Recent history is on the side of Gunners, as the last five teams who beat FC Porto in the knockout stages of the Champions League have all gone on to reach the final.
- Ray Parlour was talking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of Netbet Sports Betting where Arsenal are 6.00 to win the Champions League
