'Arsenal are a threat to everybody in the Champions League', says old foe Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben is generous in his assessment of Arsenal – but his words come with a sting in the tail.
Of all the momentous meetings between the north Londoners and Bayern Munich, this year's two-legged affair - which begins with Wednesday's collision in Germany - is, according to Robben, “the 50/50 one”; the one which is “going to be the most difficult”; the one where the Premier League club are “more dangerous”.
Bayern are, for once, playing the first leg at home - which should offer Arsenal an advantage. But then comes Robben's sting. “I don’t see a problem with that,” he says. “I’m always quite relaxed about it. It all depends on the first result. If we don’t concede, then I’m happy to go to London.”
The message is clear: Bayern expect to score at the Emirates. And no wonder. The ground has been a home from home in recent seasons, which may be one of the reasons Robben cuts such a relaxed figure as we chat in a side-room at the club’s Säbener Strasse complex, their leafy headquarters on the outskirts of Munich.
This will be the fourth time in five years that Bayern have faced Arsenal in the Champions League: in that period, Arsenal have won just twice and Bayern have at least reached the semi-finals. Arsenal, meanwhile, have failed to make the last eight since 2010.
Not that they were Robben's preferred opponents. “I'd rather play Leicester,” Robben says, laughing. “That would be different - not easier, or more difficult, just different.”
The Leicester story captured the imagination – even at one of Europe’s superpowers such as Bayern, who have dominated the Bundesliga and are on course for a fifth successive title.
“I mean, it’s like a fairytale, amazing,” Robben says. “I was very happy also for the coach (Claudio Ranieri) because he signed me for Chelsea [in 2004] and he had to leave. So for him I was also especially happy. And, yeah, I mean you can see how they are struggling now…”
Does that make winning the Premier League last season even more extraordinary? “But it was extraordinary,” Robben says. “I think it was only four, five or six games before the end that everybody was saying: ‘Hmmm, maybe they are really good’. Before that everybody was saying, ‘Yeah, but they will come down. In the end they will lose’. No, they didn’t.”
Leicester are also in the last 16 but, given their freefall, they are probably not among those whom Robben believes can win the Champions League.
“There are 16 teams left and of those 16 teams maybe there are seven or eight who can win it, realistically,” he says. “Maybe a big surprise will win it and I’m not being fair on the other seven or eight teams. In the Champions League only one weak 45 minutes and you are out.”
Arsenal? “I think they have improved again compared to last year and, of course, we have faced them over the last few years and have always won or went through to the next round. But I think this is maybe going to be the most difficult one because of their status at the moment.
"Their level has risen again… They are a threat to everybody who is in the Champions League, they can make it difficult for everyone. We are confident, of course, but it’s going to be a 50/50 one.”
Robben does not sound fazed, but Bayern have never been a club lacking in self-confidence and this squad positively drips with experience.
“There are four, five players who are over 30,” Robben says. “So you have this experience in the team and we all know how to play. I think that’s what you need at a club. I think that’s also what’s special about the club. You need, like, this core.”
It is also why the 33-year-old recently signed a new 12-month contract. There had been some discussion about leaving – with the mandatory big offer from China being tabled – but the Dutch international did not even consider it.
“The motivation is that I am at one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’m feeling very, very good,” Robben says. “I’ve been here seven-and-a-half years. I think you come to a phase in your career when you are not so young any more. Of course, we’ve been thinking about it but I still want to play at the highest level and that’s what I can do here.
“For me, there are not a lot of options. On this (Bayern) you cannot improve. There is not one club that will be one step higher. It would be different and then you have to decide for yourself – do you want to make one more last step, one more last change, or are you happy?
"It was quite easy because I am so happy at this club, it’s a fantastic club. Every player - but also every ex—player from Bayern - will say that. And they will all say ‘never leave the club’…the way I am feeling now, and with Bayern, and if it’s the same next year, then I can imagine renewing my contract for another year.
“Our biggest target, of course, is to win the Champions League again. We won it in 2013 and we’ve got some older players – Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery, Xabi Alonso – so it’s like we don’t have a lot more chances. It’s not like we have five, six more years left. So if we are in good shape as a team and in the best condition then we can beat any team in Europe.”
It is a target Robben has reached in the past although this competition has not always been kind to him. There have been some wounding semi-final defeats and, most agonisingly, he missed a penalty in extra-time against Chelsea in the final in the Allianz Arena in 2012. Chelsea won in the shoot-out.
It was the third major cup final Robben had lost, after the 2010 World Cup final with Holland and the 2010 Champions League Final with Bayern. He had had enough. So when Robben scored the late winning goal in the final at Wembley against Borussia Dortmund the following year he spoke afterwards of how he did not want to have the “stamp of loser”.
“What I meant was you don’t want to be remembered like someone who always reaches a final and was at such a good level but never won,” Robben explains. “You need to win it at least once so that was a big relief after losing already two Champions League finals with Bayern. There was the third one, of course, one World Cup Final, and it’s positive (to reach finals) but in the end it’s about titles.
“Especially the third final, that was really like ‘whatever happens today, we’re going to win it’. Afterwards it’s easy to say ‘I knew we were going to win it’ but, no, it was like this feeling: one time, two times - but third time?
“It was like a book. The year before, in 2012, in your own stadium, with all the fans, losing the final in a dramatic way. I missed a penalty in extra-time, so then to bounce back straight away the year after and score the winner in the last minute - it was like a dream come true.”
That dream has not been repeated since. Jupp Heynckes left after that 2013 final to be replaced by Pep Guardiola, who reached three successive semi-finals but could progress no further. However, Robben is a fan – and believes Guardiola will succeed at Manchester City.
“In his third year, we were far more complete than in the first year,” he explains. “I’m not worried about him at all. I know his philosophy. I know the way he thinks about football and I also know the Premier League, as I played there for three years, so I know, with all the teams that are in it, it’s very, very difficult.
“Every game is a new battle. But the thing I have seen a little bit at City, is that you can already see his handwriting. And that is something that is very positive. You don’t [generally] see that so quickly. And the way they are playing, in my opinion, is maybe more attractive than it was before. He loves the game, he loves football, he loves attacking football. He wants to have the ball, he wants to play and, for players, it’s the best. I’m sure he will continue and I’m sure he will be successful.”
Guardiola’s successor, Carlo Ancelotti, is bringing his own ideas and also has the knowledge that he has won the Champions League three times as a coach – twice with AC Milan, once with Real Madrid. So does this Bayern team have to win it again?
“‘Have’ is, I think, a big word,” Robben says. “‘Have’ is when you haven’t won it before and you were two, three times that close and losing two or three finals. But we’ve won it once. It’s also not the other way around that it doesn’t really matter. I just know that I love football and when I’m on the pitch I want to win.”
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