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MUNICH. – 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 Champions League soccer Last 16 affair – which begins with tonight’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 English 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 English 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.” – The Telegraph.