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Arsenal have been warned that they are \u201cnot going to win\u201d the Champions League unless one thing changes, with it claimed that two sides are better.<\/p>\n
After losses against Manchester City and Southampton, Arsenal<\/strong> returned to winning ways on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n The Gunners were hardly convincing, but they earned a valuable 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.<\/p>\n This means that Mikel Arteta<\/strong>\u2018s side are firm favourites to reach the semi-finals, and they will face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid if they reach the next round.<\/p>\n The other side of the draw is tougher as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool and PSG are vying for a place in the final, and former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley thinks Arsenal will get caught out if they do not \u201cfind extra gears\u201d in the games to come.<\/p>\n Burley has also argued that Arsenal are \u201cnot at the level\u201d reached by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the result you obviously take it,\u201d Burley said on ESPN.<\/p>\n READ: Trademark Arsenal bore us to death but win again thanks to Raya and Havertz \u201cSporting are one of the weakest teams left, if not the weakest team, but Arsenal haven\u2019t been great, we know that.<\/p>\n \u201cI imagine they\u2019re home and dry after that result, barring a disaster at home. No matter who the opposition is, Champions League quarter-finals, you get a 1-0 lead to take back home next week \u2013 you\u2019re taking that.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to have to up their game though, if they go through against Sporting, which they should, and get to the semi-finals, if they don\u2019t up their game\u2026 I mean, did you see the other game tonight, Real Madrid vs Bayern?<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment Arsenal, whilst they have everybody talking about the depth of their squad and that they\u2019re probably going to win the Premier League, they need to play better.<\/p>\n \u201cThat level that Bayern and Real Madrid got to today \u2013 and we know they can both get better \u2013 I don\u2019t think Arsenal\u2026 they\u2019ve really got to flick that switch again to get to that level.<\/p>\n \u201cIs anybody surprised that Arsenal are winning 1-0 away at one of the weakest teams left? That\u2019s all I\u2019m saying.<\/p>\n \u201cBigger picture, they have to find the extra gears that they had at the beginning of the season, or they\u2019re not going to win this competition. I\u2019m not being negative, that\u2019s just how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Arsenal told one club will stop them winning the Champions League \u2013 \u2018I\u2019d edge towards them\u2019 Burley also argued that Arsenal will have a \u201cbig problem\u201d in the semi-finals if they do not have key players back fit for the next round.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah but that was when Arsenal were playing free-flowing football, which we know they can do,\u201d Burley added.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were really pressing teams, they were going out from the get-go, they were a hundred miles an hour, they were throttling the life out to teams and players were in form \u2013 all those things have gone.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Five-year net spend table as Man Utd lead Arsenal and Chelsea \u201cPeople have talked about Arsenal playing gritty and grinding but that didn\u2019t work against Man City in the cup final. They tried that approach and City were too good.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I just think they\u2019re going to have to find a different game. It\u2019s one thing grinding it out against Sporting. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to be able to grind it out against the likes of Bayern.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I think if you give teams like Bayern that amount of possession, they\u2019ll cut you open. So I do feel they\u2019ll have to get their players fit again, Arsenal that is, and back on form. Otherwise, the semi-finals are going to be a big problem.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
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