"It's for a reason" - Brazil icon Rivaldo explains why Arsenal are favorites to win Champions League this season
Brazil legend Rivaldo believes Arsenal are the favorites to win the UEFA Champions League this season owing to their position in the Premier League table.
The Gunners have continued their exceptional league form this season as well, having dominated the top of the league table for 248 days last term. The north Londoners are currently first in the league table, level on points with second-placed Liverpool and a point ahead of third-placed Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta's men finished at the top of their respective Champions League group before scraping through the Round of 16 against Porto, winning the tie on penalties.
Rivaldo believes the Gunners' form in the English top-tier will help them lift their first-ever Champions League trophy this season. The former Barcelona star said in an interview with Betfair:
"If they continue to play the same way they have been playing, the same way they have been playing in the Premier League, they will be able to win titles.
"The Premier League is, in my opinion, the toughest and strongest league in football, so if Arsenal are first in the table it's for a reason. Whoever is first in the Premier League has a great chance of winning the Champions League."
He added:
"Arsenal are among the favorites for me. However, we know how football is, the favorites are not always the champions, a lot of things can happen in football, you have to be focused, as it was last season - in a moment of carelessness, they lost the Premier league trophy."
The Gunners are set to face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with their first leg scheduled on April 9.
“Everything suggests that it should be" - Pundit makes prediction for Arsenal vs Bayern Munich Champions League tie
Pundit Alejandro Moreno believes that while the Gunners are the favorites to win the Champions League quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich, the Bavarians will pull through.
The north Londoners find themselves in Europe's most elite club-level competition for the first time in seven years. The last time the Gunners were in the Champions League, they were brutally knocked out by the Bavarians by an aggregate scoreline of 10-2 over two legs in the Round of 16.
While Mikel Arteta's men have displayed stellar form recently, winning their last eight Premier League games in dominant fashion, Moreno believes Bayern can still triumph.
He said (via TBR Football):
“Everything suggests that it should be and would be Arsenal, because they will exploit the frailties of Bayern Munich. I’m going to say Bayern Munich.
"Honestly, I’m going to go Bayern Munich. And that’s because, I find that Bayern Munich, on the individual level can really hurt Arsenal."