The eight Champions League last 16 ties are all now at the halfway stage following Wednesday night’s games.
Manchester City and Arsenal are the only Premier League teams remaining in the competition after Newcastle and Manchester United were knocked out in the group stage. City kept their hopes of retaining the trophy on track in their first leg against Copenhagen.
Pep Guardiola’s side fell behind at the Danish champions, but fought back to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the tie. Arsenal meanwhile have work to do heading into their second leg against Porto.
Despite dominating possession, the Gunners fell to a 1-0 defeat at the Portuguese side, who scored a 94th minute winner. So with English hopes in the balance, we asked our team of writers ‘How far do you think City and Arsenal will go and have you changed your mind on their chances?’
Darren Lewis
Manchester City can retain it. Absolutely. Everybody knows just how difficult that is to do but three things weigh heavily in their favour. First, the experience of having been there, done it and come within touching distance.
Not just having won it last season but having sampled the bitter taste of defeat to Chelsea. It has helped them to identify and navigate the pitfalls of the course and the distance.
Second, the return of the pack. Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland and John Stones are back in business after interrupted seasons following last year’s triumph in the Final. All three are key members of the spine that brings so much stability to the City machine.
And third, the growth of the rising stars. Phil Foden’s goals, guile and ball carrying ability still doesn’t get the credit it deserves because there is so much else to admire in City blue. Also because there are so many others impressing in his position at other clubs.
Oscar Bobb’s vision and finishing ability – again, overshadowed by the capabilities of those behind him – could yet provide an x-factor as we approach the decisive stage of the competition.
Throw in the world class midfield abilities of Rodri and the fact that City are, once again, on one of their trademark, second-half-of-the-season runs of unbeaten form (14 wins and two draws from their last 16 games in all competitions stretching back to December) and it is set up nicely fo for City to lift the biggest prize in European club football again.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will win the Champions League this season? Comment below.
Manchester City are the favourites to retain their title(MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
Andy Dunn
We are not quite there yet but when the Champions League round of 16 is over, the little Englanders should reacquaint themselves with the concept of there being some very good football teams who do NOT play in the Premier League.
There is a reason two teams from the self-styled Greatest League in the World did not qualify for the knockout stages and that is because there are some very accomplished sides dotted around Europe.
For example, if you are a betting type, the 14-1 against Kylian Mbappe’s Paris St Germain being triumphant at Wembley on June 1 should look quite attractive. Ditto for the odds of 10-1 against Inter winning the whole shebang.
But on the evidence of the first knockout legs, there is no reason to believe Manchester City are not capable of repeating last season’s success. They look more and more Champions League-savvy with every game they play, with every routine victory they produce.
Arsenal, on the other hand, still have the look of Champions League rookies, and now face a very tricky task to try and make the quarter-finals. Real Madrid, of course, remain a major force but Pep Guardiola ’s side – with Erling Haaland hungrier than ever – is still THE team to beat.
PSG are an attractive bet to finally win the Champions League in Kylian Mbappe’s final season(Getty Images)
Megan Feringa
Apparently the only intangible that matters in Europe is experience, which is good news for Manchester City and calamitous for Arsenal if they can’t turn the bad experiences good.
City can thank Manchester United for collapsing against Copenhagen so they can show their Mancunian foes how it’s done, but they’ve shown enough foibles to suggest there’s a wobble waiting in the semi-finals.
That’s why you buy an Erling Haaland, who should be haunted enough by the toothless ghosts from that Chelsea draw to gobble up Europe in penance and reach Wembley. As for Arsenal, Porto boss Sergio Conceicao took the style-v-substance debate, folded it into a little paper airplane and whizzed it back to north London.
The Gunners can take comfort in the fact they tend to do this: not do so hot away, then remember how to score in Greenwich Mean Time. Yet, half the battle in Europe is learning how to handle the ‘dark arts’, maybe even swallowing some pride and applying them oneself.
Porto aren’t the first team to espouse them and they certainly won’t be the last. Arsenal could be adding another last-16 frustration to the list if they don’t heed that lesson, and quickly.
Arsenal fell to a dismal defeat to Porto in the first leg of their last 16 tie(Getty Images)
Mike Walters
As holders, Manchester City are the team to catch and they have all the clout required to retain the European Cup (as it should be known, because most of the clubs in the Champions League aren’t actually champions).
With Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva pulling the strings like puppeteers, City have every chance of going all the way again. It’s just a shame that everything they achieve is currently subject to 115 asterisks while the Premier League kick the can down the street on those charges of alleged financial jiggery-pokery.
As for Arsenal? They have a better chance you might think because it’s a weak last 16 this year. Barcelona aren’t the force they were, Napoli are going nowhere and Harry Kane has signed for Bayern Munich just in time to catch them going backwards.
That leaves the usual suspects – City, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, how dull – for the Gunners to avoid if they overturn that 1-0 deficit against Porto. Arsenal could win the title, they could win the Champions League or they could win both. Or they could win neither – which is where this fortune teller’s money lies.
Bayern Munich, usually among the favourites for the Champions League, are enduring a dreadful season in Harry Kane’s first year at the club(Getty Images)
David Anderson
Manchester City are the team to beat in the Champions League and it’s hard to see anyone stopping them because they have the perfect blend of experience and ability. Arsenal’s inexperience in the Champions League let them down badly in Porto and they were far too cautious.
They didn’t play the exciting, open football which made them such a joy to watch in the Premier League. But remember they lost 2-1 in Porto in the first leg of their last 16 tie in 2010 before winning 5-0 at the Emirates and I expect Mikel Arteta’s side to complete the job again.
I thought Arsenal were one of City’s main rivals in the Champions League and it is clear they need to learn on the job if they are to deny them back-to-back European titles. City have everything you want on the European stage and what we are seeing now is the culmination of 13 successive years of hard work in the Champions League.
They have proved they can beat the big teams, be it Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, and have key men Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland back fit at the right moment.
City have been boosted by the recent return of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne from injury(AFP via Getty Images)
Kieran King
I said earlier in the season that I think Real Madrid will win the Champions League this season – and my opinion hasn’t changed. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are flying in La Liga and have shown different ways of winning in recent weeks after grinding out a 1-0 victory at RB Leipzig in their last 16 first leg.
Man City are my second pick to win the Champions League and I am tipping Pep Guardiola’s men to reach the final IF they avoid Real. I think they are currently the second best team left in the competition behind Los Blancos and could quite easily retain Europe’s top club prize.
As for Arsenal, I am backing them to overcome the one-goal deficit and beat Porto in the last 16 second leg to reach the quarter-final, but I think that’s as far as the Gunners will reach. I think their inexperience in the Champions League will take its toll the longer the competition goes on.
Paris Saint-Germain might have something to say in Kylian Mbappe’s farewell tour, while many of the other last 16 ties are finely in the balance. I expect Bayern Munich to go through despite losing 1-0 at Lazio and their difficult run of form. In my opinion, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Real, Man City, Arsenal, PSG and Bayern will make up the last eight.
Real Madrid look likely to be City’s biggest competition(Getty Images)
Alex Richards
At the start of the season, I think Manchester City were my tip to win the Champions League again. I’ve not seen anything to change my mind, particularly with the issues at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, for all their brilliance, having not truly replaced Karim Benzema.
Provided there’s no massive unforeseen problem for Pep Guardiola’s men – losing Haaland, De Bruyne and Rodri all to injury at the same time for example – then they’ve got everything it takes to land back-to-back Euro crowns, something which would be a first for their manager.
Arsenal however… well perhaps everyone got a little bit too excited. Perhaps we shouldn’t have forgotten the fact that, despite being heavily fancied in the Europa League in recent years, they continually came up short.
Porto are experienced Champions League campaigners, routinely reach the last 16 and have an excellent manager in Sergio Conceicao who thrives on annoying the life out of teams. Arteta’s men were too easily sucked into a stop-start match and didn’t have the quality required, now they’ve made life difficult for themselves.
To be honest, I’d still expect them to qualify, provided they start fast and with impetus in the second leg. But unless they quickly find the nous required to manage games at this level, then the quarter-final looks like being the end of the line.
Porto have not been tipped to hang on to their lead over Arsenal(Getty Images)
Dan Marsh
Arsenal were far from their fluent best against Porto and it’s difficult to ascertain how far they can go in either their bid to win either Premier League or the Champions League while they remain in both competitions.
They came up short in the title race without the small matter of elite European football on their plate and the same can be said for their chances in Europe this year. I don’t see them going the distance in either competitions, sadly. I do fancy them to come back against Porto and make the quarter-finals. But beyond that? I’m just not sure they have the squad.
Manchester City are a different beast altogether. It would take a brave (or foolish) person to look beyond them in Europe – even if they too weren’t at their imposing best against FC Copenhagen. The reigning champions may have had a favourable draw in the Round of 16, but I’d have fancied them to beat any of the other teams in the competition given they boast the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland in their ranks. That view hasn’t changed.
City are looking to win the Champions League for just the second time in their history(Getty Images)
Tommy Wathen
With the first legs of the Champions League Round of 16 now over, Arsenal face an uphill task if they want to progress to the Quarter-Finals this season. A 1-0 defeat away to Porto was probably unexpected on Wednesday evening based on Arsenal’s free-scoring Premier League form in recent weeks, but the Portuguese side also have the ability to do the same again at the Emirates too.
Arsenal haven’t made the last eight since 2010, so they’ll need to raise their performances in Europe if they don’t want to avoid heartbreak again. It is a completely different situation for Manchester City who take a two-goal lead into the second leg following a 3-1 win at Copenhagen.
The treble-winners, like Arsenal, are focusing on chasing Liverpool in the Premier League title race, but there is no doubt that Pep Guardiola’s side have the squad depth and talent to go all the way again. Kevin De Bruyne is just getting back to his best after a long injury and Erling Haaland is still regularly finding the back of the net, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Man City lifting the famous Champions League trophy again this season.
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