Thierry Henry has identified Bayern Munich and Arsenal as his two frontrunners to win the Champions League this season, casting doubt on the consistency of his former club Barcelona. The France legend shared his verdict after analysing the first leg matches of the last 16, which saw Bayern thrash Atalanta 6-1 and Arsenal prepare to face Bayer Leverkusen.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry praised Bayern's balance and pressing, stating: “I think that Bayern is way more balanced than Barcelona in terms of how they attack, how they shift places. They know what they need to do, they press well, they’re very difficult to beat at times.”
In contrast, Henry criticised Barcelona for lacking consistency, despite acknowledging them as “hot favourites”. He said: “It looks like at Barcelona sometimes... you have the tie against Atletico... then you bring it back to Barca... they need to find that consistency and that balance if they want to win.”
Henry concluded: “[Barcelona’s] balance sometimes that they don’t have make me turn a tiny bit more to Bayern and Arsenal.” Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher agreed, adding: “I think Bayern or Arsenal would beat Barcelona.”
