A Manchester City star has admitted that he would have been more worried to face Arsenal than Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The top two sides in the Premier League this year both crashed out at the quarter-final stage of Europe’s elite club competition, with Arsenal losing to Bayern on aggregate whilst City were knocked out by Real Madrid on penalties.
With no English teams taking part in this year’s final at Wembley Stadium, Arsenal and City would have been kicking themselves for being eliminated from the Champions League with a home country finale on the line.
Yet one City star was seemingly fearing the chance of playing Arsenal in Europe.
Kyle Walker says he didn’t want to face Arsenal in the Champions League
Speaking on You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker, the England international and City star admitted that he did not want to come up against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals, a likely outcome had the two Premier League sides won their quarter-final ties.
With Arsenal beating City twice this season and holding the Manchester giants to a draw at the Etihad Stadium, the Gunners were one of the few sides to really get under Pep Guardiola’s skin on their way to winning a fourth Premier League title.
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Indeed, Arsenal fans were confident about winning the Champions League this season due to Mikel Arteta’s ability to take on City at their own game, and it’s no surprise that the likes of Walker were also worried about facing the Gunners in Europe.
Walker said when asked who he would have preferred to face in the Champions League semi-finals: “I’m thinking that if we would have got through the Real Madrid tie, I would have preferred Bayern than Arsenal, because I think Arsenal are a really good team at the minute.”
Arsenal can challenge for the Champions League next season
Optimism was high this season surrounding Arsenal in Europe, with fans surprisingly confident that they could make an impact in the Champions League despite not taking part in the competition since 2017.
Whilst the Gunners fell short, the signs were there, particularly in the group stage, that Arsenal can get at top teams if they come out all guns blazing, with next season’s new format something that the north London side could thrive in.
As a result, Arsenal could challenge for the Champions League next season, with the entire squad now experienced in the competition and aware of the nature the tournament brings out in opposing players.