It came at a time when Mikel Arteta's Premier League challenge was also faltering, as eventual champions Manchester City started to hunt them down. In the Champions League, the Gunners have been eliminated at the last-16 stage more than any other side and have lost in the last 16 in their last seven appearances in the competition. But former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson, speaking on 5 Live Breakfast earlier, believes neither last season's Europa League exit nor their poor track record in the Champions League has any bearing on tonight's game. "If you look at results [in the Champions League], a lot of those are a significant amount of time ago," said Upson. "They might now be sat at the top of the tree [in the Premier League] but if you speak to most people they are very much [seen as] underdogs in whether or not they are actually going to go on and win the Premier League.
