Seedorf's Arsenal Bombshell: Gunners Can Win Champions League Because of Defence

PSG's thrilling 5-4 demolition of Bayern Munich on Tuesday night has sparked a curious take from Clarence Seedorf: Arsenal should be considered the tournament's strongest contenders.

The French side appeared to have matters well in hand at 5-2, only for Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz to claw Bayern back into the tie with two quickfire goals that promise a fascinating second leg at the Allianz Arena.

Yet for all the entertainment value, the defensive frailties on display have not gone unnoticed. Wayne Rooney, speaking on Prime Video, suggested both sides should be deeply troubled by what they served up.

"When they had the advantage at 5-2, I think Luis Enrique should have said, 'right, let's shut up shop, let's get behind the ball, make it hard, see the tie out', potentially that would've got them to the final but they didn't, they went for more goals," Rooney explained.

The Manchester United legend was equally scathing about Bayern's setup under Vincent Kompany. "Vincent Kompany has got a very attack-minded team, and I think you could clearly see they haven't worked that much on defending because some of the goals we've seen are schoolboy goals," he said.

"At this level, we've seen some brilliant but immature defending, which is crazy."

Rooney concluded that despite the entertaining spectacle, Bayern should feel the happier of the two sides heading into next week's return. "To leave here with only a goal behind, knowing that you can score goals against PSG, you can tighten it up a little bit, I think the advantage is with them," he added.

Arsenal's Defensive Fortress

Arsenal face Atletico Madrid in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday, and Seedorf reckons the Gunners possess the one ingredient that matters most at this stage of the competition.

"Ask the goalkeepers if they're happy. They are not happy, a clean sheet was always sacred for goalkeepers," Seedorf said. "We have seen a team like Arsenal making that difference this year, having so many clean sheets and coming all the way. So if I had to point out one team now, that would be capable to actually bring it home because of that capacity, actually it's Arsenal."

Rooney reinforced the point by questioning how any player or manager could emerge satisfied from Tuesday's carnage. "I don't see how, if you're a player or a coach, no matter if you've won the game, you go into that game having conceded four or five goals and be happy. I think there's got to be questions asked."