As it stands, at this stage in the season, Arsenal are looking like a very good value punt for the Champions League. Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp certainly thinks so, mentioning after his side’s 1-0 loss in Germany that Wenger’s men could definitely lift the title and were even capable of completing a league and European Cup double. At the time of writing, the best price you can get for the Gunners to win the UCL is 18/1. While you wouldn’t be absolutely confident of this actually being achieved, it’s probably a bet worth taking.
The Gunners are capable of beating any team on the right day and tend to rise to the challenge when the opposition is playing well. The embarrassing defeat suffered by Manchester City against Bayern Munich a few weeks ago is something that wouldn’t have happened to Arsenal. Of course, the Gunners might have lost the match, but they wouldn’t have done so in such devastating style. At the Emirates in 2011, in the first leg of the last 16 Champions League clash, Arsenal had a memorable victory of 2-1 over Barcelona who were in their pomp at the time.
The most likely candidate to win this year’s Champions League is probably still Bayern, repeating on the success that they had last time. This is reflected in the odds, with Bayern favourites at 5/2 at the moment. Indeed, Klopp in his interview mentioned that the only team Arsenal had to be worried about was Bayern. Coincidentally it was the Bavarians who knocked out the Gunners in last season’s tournament.
Next in the running are Barcelona at 9/2, followed by Real Madrid at 5/1. Further out, we have Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and French giants Paris St Germain, both at 14-1, with the Gunners, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid each around 16-18/1.
With their ability to beat any team on the day, Arsenal look to be the best value here. If they can keep playing well, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t reach the last 16 and by that time, they will no longer be an 18-1 punt. If you’ve got some cash that you can easily manage without should things not go Arsenal’s way, it’s worth grabbing that value for Arsenal to win the Champions League now.
You could also have that bet for free if you place your bet with a site like 32Red. As well as being a casino site, 32Red has sports betting as well. Check out 32Red’s online casino where there’s a generous welcome bonus to take advantage of – for every £10 you put in, the site will give you £32 of credit to play the games with. You could ‘invest’ some of this bonus into a bet on Arsenal to be outright winners.
Of course, there’s one top team who didn’t get a mention above – and that’s Manchester United who offer very good value on a bet at 20/1. Though this reflects some doubts over whether they’ll get through to the last 16, it’s a price that could still be worth having.
Time will tell – the final will be played in Lisbon, Portugal, on 24 May. You never know, an early value punt today might just bring dividends.