Arsenal will breeze to Champions League top spot and have the one thing required to win it

Arsenal have what it takes win the Champions League this season.

That’s according to European football expert Kevin Hatchard, who is raving about the Gunners who so far boast a perfect 100 per cent record in the Champions League.

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Mikel Arteta’s men round off their league phase campaign with a home clash against Kazakhstan-based club Kairat Almaty on Wednesday night as they look to make it eight wins from eight to take into the round-of-16.

And Hatchard believes that this year is Arsenal’s year, stating as much on the talkSPORT Daily podcast.

“They have been the best team in the Champions League so far, I think that’s fair to say,” Hatchard began on the Champions League preview edition of the podcast.

“They were able to power their way past Bayern, which I thought was a really good result.”

Defence key for Gunners

Hatchard has pointed to Arsenal’s defence as the reason to believe the north London side can land a first major European trophy in their history.

“Arsenal, defensively, makes me think they can. I still think defensively they’re the best team in Europe,” Hatchard continued.

“I do think the Arsenal do have an opportunity here because of the depth they have, because of the defensive quality they have.

“When I say defensive quality, it’s not just William Saliba and Gabriel. It’s the fact that as a team out of possession, they’re incredibly difficult to break down.”

There is still a chance Arsenal finish second in the league phase, but they’d need to lose to Kairat Almaty at the Emirates Stadium and for Bayern to beat PSV in Eindhoven with a five-goal swing to not progress as winners.

And when host Angelina Kelly asked whether Arsenal will lose to the Kazakh side on Wednesday, Hatchard bluntly replied: “No.”

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Loving the Kairat story

Not that Hatchard doesn’t have time for Kairat, as he added: “I love the Kairat story. It was funny, actually, one of their players [Adilet Sadybekov] scored against Club Brugge on the last match day, and they were losing heavily.

“And he was thrilled and he was celebrating. And people were like, ‘What’s he doing? They’re miles down!’

“But it was lovely, actually, because it just underlines how important it is for Kairat to be in the Champions League, for a Kazakh team to have got this far.

“It’s great for them in terms of the finance, of course. It’s great story as well.

“But they’ve struggled. They’ve been the weakest team in the competition. There’s no surprise there, really.

“And so going to Arsenal, who have the most incredible amount of depth.

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“We’ve talked about injuries all the way through the show, but Arsenal can cope with it because of the squad they’ve put together.

“And even if Arteta makes wholesale changes, I would still expect them to win the game. So, I think it’s going to be eight out of eight for Arsenal.”

Kairat have picked up just one point from their seven games so far, that coming in a 0-0 draw with Cypriot side Pafos.

Chelsea’s top-eight chances

Kelly and Hatchard also spoke of Chelsea’s chances of securing a top-eight spot.

Heading into Wednesday’s bumper round of action, the Blues occupy the final automatic progression spot, but are locked on 13 points along with Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Atalanta.

Chelsea need to effectively beat Napoli, who sit 25th and are pushing for a playoff spot, to avoid a two-legged affair to book a last-16 place.

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And when Kelly asked Hatchard which game catches the eye, he replied: “I think the Napoli-Chelsea one is the one that really screams at you.

“Not only the Antonio Conte factor taking on his old club, but the fact there’s so much jeopardy for both teams because Chelsea are eighth at the moment

“Realistically, they’re going to have to win to keep a top eight place and go straight through to the last-16.

“Napoli, flirting with disaster here, they almost certainly need a win to progress. And for the Italian champions to be in that position is extraordinary, really.”

Hatchard continued: “They’ve been awful away from home in the competition.

“If you look at the last away game they played, which was at Copenhagen, they’re 1-0 up against ten men, and still managed to blow it and ended up drawing the game.

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“Antonio Conte was quite open about it afterwards. He said: ‘We messed up again. ‘It was a game we were in control of and we should have seen it through. So that has so much riding on it.

“If they go out of the Champions League at this stage, that’s not only an embarrassment for them, it’s an enormous blow financially.”

Easy win for Liverpool looming?

Liverpool, meanwhile, are in a far stronger position than Chelsea inside the top-eight.

The Reds sit fourth with 15 points, and it would take a huge upset against Qarabag, and for results elsewhere to go against Arne Slot’s side, to drop below eighth.

However, while Liverpool are favourites to beat Qarabag at Anfield, Hatchard doesn’t believe the Merseyside giants will ease to victory on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t be 100 per cent nailed on that Liverpool win this game,” Hatchard said.

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“The way they’re playing at the moment, I think Qarabag can really cause them a problem.

“So, yes, Liverpool heavy favourites. I’d expect them to win. I was really impressed with the way they played at Marseille. I thought they were really smart.

“I think their best performance has actually been away from home in this competition.

“They went to Inter, won 1-0, kept it very, very tight. Went to Marseille, didn’t give them a sniff.

“They should go through, but a little bit of trepidation there still.”

Tottenham’s chances in Frankfurt

Tottenham Hotspur face a testing final match of the league phase, but despite their dire league form they sit fifth on 14 points following last week’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Spurs round off their campaign with a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, who have struggled in 2026 and relieved Dino Toppmoller of his managerial duties earlier this month.

Frankfurt have nothing to play for having collected just four points from their seven games heading into Wednesday’s welcome of Spurs.

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“It’s a good time to play Frankfurt because they don’t have a permanent manager,” Hatchard said.

“They’ve just sacked Toppmoller. They’ve conceded three goals in each of their competitive games in 2026.

“And that’s why Topmoller went, because the balance of the team wasn’t right. They’re too fragile. They’re too naïve. And the talent that they have has not been brought to bear.

“It’s a really good time to play them. Tottenham went there in the Europa League and won. And I think it was a stronger Frankfurt team then than it is now.”

When does the Champions League action get underway?

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Newcastle are all in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

All 18 games for the final round of league phase kick off at 8pm GMT in midweek.

And you can follow all the action LIVE on talkSPORT on Wednesday night.