WHATEVER happens from here in the Premier League title race, there is no longer any doubt that Mikel Arteta has built a great team at Arsenal.
The Gunners are probably the best out-of-possession side in Europe and underpinned by a steely ruthlessness which has put paid to the lingering questions about their mentality and soft centre.
They still need to get over the line to major honours, but it increasingly feels like a matter of time before they win the title again, even if they may have to wait for one or both of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola to leave their current posts with Liverpool and Manchester City respectively.
Building a team to compete for the Premier League and a side capable of dominating in Europe are very different challenges, however, and a Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich will test Arsenal's progress and, perhaps more importantly, their pedigree on this stage.
While Arsenal are on the up domestically, Bayern are heading in the opposite direction, and their remarkable era of Bundesliga dominance is all but certain to end in the coming weeks when Bayer Leverkusen - also led by a 42-year-old former Spain midfielder in Xabi Alonso- dethrone the Bavarians as champions.
It is doubtful, however, how much domestic form actually matters for an occasion like tonight's first leg in north London, largely because Bayern are so steeped in history in this competition and Arsenal are not.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 09, 2024-Ausgabe von Evening Standard.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 09, 2024-Ausgabe von Evening Standard.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Who is to blame for the lack of elite English managers?
Replacing Tuchel with a homegrown candidate will be no easy task
Who your club will sign and sell in the January market
Kolo Muani has more than one interested club in London, while there are big names unsettled and looking to move
The debt disaster threatening to leave Londoners without a drop to drink
Crisis-hit Thames Water could go under in days
Is 2025 the year of the first-time buyer?
This could be your best chance to buy a home in more than a decade here's where to look
Kick back in the Caribbean BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia
Green juices, beach workouts and supercharged facials: more and more of us are swapping piña coladas and indulgent food for a healthier, but no less glamorous, holiday.
Dishoom's Kavi Thakraron why Mumbai is his inspiration
The best street food, fantastic markets and bars where the hours just disappear...the restaurateur shares his guide
On the sauce - Adiamondis forever, after all
Double Diamond was supposedly Prince Philip’s favourite beer. He’s said to have enjoyed a bottle, nightly.
At the table - Queen of W1 expands empire with chic Italian
I understand it's not the done thing to compare restaurateurs to murderous mob bosses, given it's rude and, well, they're notoriously litigious. But when I think of Samyukta Nair, sometimes I hear Jack Nicholson's mutterings in The Departed, Martin Scorsese's Boston gangster flick. \"I don't want to be a product of my environment,\" Nichol- son says. \"I want my environment to be a product of me.\"
The Royal Academy's masterful show and mind-expanding surrealist paintings
Known for his intricate and stunning handmade tapestries, Siributr creates these vast hangings to explore his native Thailand past and present.
Review - Adrien Brody's power and depth shine in this colossal epic
The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s third feature, is a movie of such colossal size and scope it may well have been carved from marble; an epic paean to the immigrant experience in America in the wake of the Second World War.
