Former Bayern Munich star Owen Hargreaves makes his pick for Arsenal Champions League tie | Football

The heavyweight contest begins on Tuesday night in north London before the second leg on 17 April in Bavaria.

While this season might be Arsenal’s return to the Champions League after a spell in the European wilderness and they are taking on mainstays in the elite of the competition, they certainly have the superior form of the two.

The Gunners sit top of the Premier League while Bayern are 16 points behind Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen after back-to-back league defeats.

Hargreaves is not writing off the team he played for from 1997-2007, but believes they are underdogs in the tie.

‘To be honest, I think Arsenal might just shade it with the season that they’ve had,’ Hargreaves told TNT Sports. ‘Historically, Bayern have been the favourite in this game but they’ve had a bit of a tricky season. I think Bayern can salvage their season if they go through.

‘But I think at the moment Arsenal are slight favourites but Bayern are dangerous underdogs if they get it right.’

While the season is not going to plan for Bayern, Harry Kane’s first campaign with the club has been very impressive.

The England captain has scored 38 goals in 37 games in all competitions and Hargreaves says the Germans will need him if they are to get a result.

‘Harry Kane has been brilliant,’ said the former England midfielder. ‘In the London derby he proved he was almost always at his best. I think Harry will be delighted to be back in London and he’ll try to score the goals.

‘He wants to win a trophy and if they get it right they could win the Champions League but they need him to be firing.

‘Obviously, he wanted to go there to win some trophies, so far it hasn’t really worked out, but his numbers have been absolutely off the charts.’

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