Arsenal or Bayern Munich? Bayer Leverkusen manager names his Champions League favourite

Kasper Hjulmand insists Arsenal are one of the frontrunners to win the Champions League this season

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand believes Arsenal and Bayern Munich remain the two standout candidates to win the Champions League this season.

Goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice sealed Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Leverkusen on Tuesday night and Mikel Arteta ’s side will now play Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final after their epic comeback against Bodo/Glimt in Portugal.

Bayern, meanwhile, already have one foot in the last eight of the Champions League following their 6-1 win away to Atalanta last week and will play the Italian side in their second leg on Wednesday night.

Hjulmand has extensive experience of facing both Arsenal and Bayern this season, with his side drawing 1-1 against Vincent Kompany’s men last Saturday before their 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Speaking after his side’s Champions League exit, Hjulmand was asked if he believes Arsenal can go all the way in the competition this season.

Arsenal will now play Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final (Getty)

‘Yeah, I think they could,’ Hjulmand said.

‘You can see in the Premier League as well, their lead, the fewest goals against them, the highest number of goal scored, so it’s not a coincidence, and when you structure your game like this it’s very difficult.

‘But I also think Bayern is a very different type of game. They do it differently, Bayern, and they’re a very, very high level.

‘I would say it’s head to head, but there are also other teams in the competition like Paris and Real Madrid. So it’s a tight number of teams and in one game you never know what happens, in two games, in football, and it’s about being ready on the night.

‘But they are definitely… in a tournament like the Premier League I can see why they do so well.’