Will Arsenal win the Premier League or Champions League? Thierry, Jamie & Micah discuss | UCL Today

Arsenal have been on that kind of like brutal run, haven't they, with the title slipping away to a certain extent. But they did have that win against Newcastle at the weekend. What kind of shape do you see them as in right now? You know what, yeah, we're gonna obviously thanks for reminding me what happened on the final. No, I mean, you lose against Man City, you lose against Man City again, as we all know. You rectified that the other day against Newcastle. You had to do what you had to do. Now you need to see if Man City is going to respond. It was always going to be difficult. But the jury will always be out on Arsenal up until they do it. I keep on saying at one point I believe in what I see and people still didn't see that Arsenal team go over the line. So people are going to doubt it. This is why always people think that if Man City comes closer to Arsenal, they're always going to believe that Man City will do it because they've done it. I really don't wish that Man City can do it. I wish as a fan Arsenal can do it. But again, convince me. Do you believe it though? Do you believe that they can do it? I believe in what I see. That's a different question. I'm not going to say it, I'm going to say I believe it. Until you've seen it. I think the league, after watching that game last night, PSG and Bayern, I think one of those two teams win it. In the league, I still think there might be slip ups. But if you ask me about pressure, I would say Man City would do it. If they win all the games, I expect Man City to win on goal difference. With Arsenal, the problem is they let the door open and they shouldn't have let the door open. I think that is the difference. So if you ask me, do I believe they could do it? Do I believe it? Probably not in the Premier League. No, I think Man City will do it. Jamie? We're a month away from deciding what Mikel Arteta is and in a lot of people's eyes, he'll either be a genius in a month's time or he'll be a fraud. Well, that's the nature of it. I don't agree with either of those statements in terms of how he'll be perceived, but that's a fact. It's crunch time for Mikel Arteta now and in this next month, I think it will almost decide where a lot of people feel he is as a manager because as Thierry said, he hasn't yet got across the line, but he has done a brilliant job. But the next month will define Mikel Arteta's time as Arsenal manager. We're going to do another one of those in the big screen with Jamie's quote of the night. I have some of the mums that will do my neighbourhood. That's a proper statement. A genius or a fraud? A bit strong that, Jamie. I'd say that's not my opinion of him as a manager, but that's how people will perceive him. I guess one of the things that we've said is interesting about this tie is that Atletico now are all entirely focused on Champions League because they already know that they're going to finish within those Champions League spots in La Liga, so they can fully afford to focus on Champions League. Not the case for Arsenal who now have to play in the league at the weekend and then their second leg against Atletico next week. How will they manage that burden, that load? I don't see an issue personally. Jamie doesn't agree, thinks that the full-on game should be an issue in between the two. I'm not saying that it's going to be easy and pleasant because the game against Newcastle was very difficult, but you have the squad to be able to deal with that, so deal with it. You think differently? I just think Thierry's right in that we have got the squad. Now if this was in November, you make a few changes. I just think the stakes are so high, there's no way Mikel Arteta is going to be making changes in these games. I'd be very surprised. Now the reason maybe he's in this situation right now where a lot of players do look a little bit fatigued is because he hasn't made those changes earlier on, maybe when the stakes weren't as high. But right now I just think if they draw against Fulham, they'll think that they've lost the league. You know if Mikel Arteta had already won the league, they'd probably make changes against Fulham and they'd really go all-in in this. I'm not talking about seven or eight changes, but maybe two or three big players and they think okay, we'll keep you on the bench. I just think the stakes are so high for them in the Premier League and the Champions League because the Premier League probably slightly more so as well because Can I just ask you, you was going for the league a couple of times with Liverpool, didn't you? Years when you won the Champions League. We were in the Champions League. How did that differ when you won the Champions League and then the league? How did that differ in terms of Arsenal? Now they're going for both, they're all-in, they're running for both, but obviously they need to win one. Would you say Arsenal fans, Thierry, would prefer to win the Premier League over the Champions League? We're not in that bracket of preferring. We didn't win anything for a very long time. You leave that to people. Man City can prefer stuff, not us. Give me something. You cannot be that cocky to say we prefer this or that. Teams that often win can be cocky. I want something. I don't know what it's going to be. In terms of the fans, what would they prefer? I'm one. I don't prefer anything. Personally, like I said to you, the league because you can have a thing, but we cannot be sitting here and let's see what we prefer. Man City can do that because that's what they're about. I'll take anything as a fan, but now if I analyse the game and everything, I want the league a bit more. Do you understand what I'm saying? But you can't be sitting here and saying, it will be this, it will be this, it will be that. But when you go for the title and the Champions League and the cup, that's when it's difficult. That's when it's really extra. If you go back to my time, I don't like to do eras and stuff. We had 18 players. 17? Yes. How many do they have to play on a lot of… You can utilise your squad. Yeah, but on a lot of competition. You are the FA Cup, obviously we know that. You were not in the semis. So you can deal with that. Would you rotate then if you were Arteta or would you make a few changes? What I'm saying is, I know they've got the numbers, but do you think… The rotation is, as you said before, for me personally, I've been in that situation where I didn't play against Man United when we had to play Chelsea back to back. Man United and you guys, obviously in the league that was a tough game. I didn't play against Man United in the semi-final. I didn't play at all. So rotation cannot be for me more than one or two. Last year, Paris Saint-Germain, on the run of the treble, more often than not, it was Desiree Dewey or Barcola. If not, it was the same team. So are they superhuman? How can they play the treble? And people tell me, yeah, but the league… That's your league. I've done it at Barcelona. We won the treble. Man United won the treble. Inter won the treble. Bayern have won the treble. It can be done. What I'm trying to say to you is I don't often like the excuses thing. You have a game in front of you. Play it. You play the team that you play that's on you. Nobody remembers that I didn't play against Man United, right? That goal when we lost against Man United in the semi-final, sorry. I remember, obviously, because I didn't play. But nobody remembers that. There's no excuses. You have a team. As I said to you, put money on the table. You have two squads. And I hope, as an Arsenal fan, that we can win. Do you understand what I mean? But then you can't be sitting here, oh, E-R-O-U-R. You want to be in the semi-final of the Champions League. You want to be battling for the title. Embrace it. Battle for it. And let's see at the end, like I always say, what's going to happen. Micah, talking about what's going to happen at the end of the season, throughout the night, at some point, you've said, I think City will win the league. You've also said you think PSG or Bayern will win the Champions League. So you believe that they'll end up Yeah. I only think that because of pressure. I think Arsenal, when these guys have been talking about Arsenal, and I've defended Arsenal a lot, because in the Champions League phase, they finished top. And yes, they're not scoring as much set pieces, although they scored a set piece against Newcastle. I was thinking Arsenal was just going to get over the line. However, when they opened up that door for Man City, now it's not just about the football. It's about experience, and it's about who can handle the pressure the most. When we were going through the league, we went ahead of Man United, and then we couldn't deal with the pressure at the time. They went ahead of us. We chased, and that's why I always say with Jamie, I prefer to chase, because I've done that. I've done that as a player, and I feel like there was no pressure. Look at the last game of the season, QPR. That game, we should have beat QPR 3-4-5-0. But it didn't go that way because of the pressure. And why I say Man City will win the league is because I think they're experienced in dealing with this, especially at this time of the season. In a Champions League, anything can happen. Thierry mentioned it for a while now in terms of defensively. They're the best, aren't they? They are the best. But it's just, can they get over the line going forward? And that might be a set piece. And they could win the Champions League in that manner. But at the league, I think Man City at this time of the season, go with it.