A former Chelsea star has claimed Arsenal winning the Champions League this season would be a better accomplishment than their Invincibles campaign.
After the Gunners beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates to put one foot into the semi-finals confidence around their bid to win the Champions League is growing.
Doing so with a side hit by injuries would be an outcome many fans gave up on after drawing the 15-time winners in the quarter-finals.
Ben White, Thomas Partey and Jorginho are doubts for the second leg at the Bernabeu while Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes are out for the rest of the season.
“You’re eclipsing what any other Arsenal manager has done, and they’ve had some good ones along the way,” said ex-Blue Tony Cascarino on the Weekend Sports Breakfast.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups but European success always eluded the Frenchman.
When asked whether a Champions League win or the Invincibles is a better achievement, Cascarino replied: “Yeah definitely. The Invincibles is an incredible achievement but winning the Champions League…
“If you think of all the clubs in Europe you’re playing against, I’d say that.”
Arsenal’s 2003/04 side won the Premier League with 26 wins and 12 draws and received a unique golden trophy for their achievement.
It was the last time the Gunners claimed the title, with Arteta coming agonisingly close in the 2023/24 season.
In the Champions League, Arsenal have only made it to the semi-finals twice.
The first time was in 2006 against Villarreal, winning 2-0 on aggregate, and then losing 2-1 to Barcelona in the final.
Their last semi-final was a 4-1 aggregate loss to rivals Manchester United in 2009.
Arsenal then went on to struggle in Europe having seven consecutive exits in the round of 16 from 2011 to 2017.
The Gunners then went without Champions League football, playing in the Europa League in five of the next six seasons, before returning to the competition in 2023.
Speaking after Tuesday’s victory Arteta said: “It’s on nights like this, that you can write your own history. It came from the collective and individual quality of our players. And now we have a lot more to give.”
If Arsenal move past Real they will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa in the semi-finals.
PSG currently lead the tie 3-1 with the second leg hosted at Villa Park.
Should they make it to the final, they would likely face either Barcelona or Inter Milan who currently lead their ties against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, respectively.
