Diego Simeone backtracks on Arsenal claim as new 'strongest' Champions League team named

The Atletico Madrid manager has named Inter Milan as the best team in Europe after previously claiming Arsenal were the finest team his side had faced

Diego Simeone has seemingly reneged on his view that Arsenal are currently the best team in European football this season.

The Gunners were outstanding on Wednesday in their 3-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich. They top the league phase of the competition and are now the only unbeaten team remaining.

Arsenal have also excelled domestically and, going into this weekend’s showdown with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they hold a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

As a result, many pundits have anointed the Gunners as early front-runners for Premier League and Champions League glory. After Arsenal dismantled Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side earlier in the campaign, the former Argentina international made it clear how impressed he was with Mikel Arteta’s team.

“I would say they are the best team we have faced this season,” Simeone told Amazon Prime. “They compete so well, they run and they run, and they have quality all over the pitch.”

But after his team beat Inter Milan 2-1 in a dramatic game at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday, Simeone said it was their most recent opponents who currently held the crown.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Inter are the strongest team in the Champions League right now.

“That’s why we played a first half to hinder their play. We knew that in the second half we could express our full repertoire, with top-class players like [Antoine] Griezmann, [Alexander] Sorloth and Nico Gonzalez, who came on very well and allowed us to score in the final move.

“Today, there were strikers on the bench who wanted to start, and when they came on, they showed their worth.”

The loss for Inter was their first in the Champions League this season. They still sit in fourth spot, with four wins from their other four matches. In Italy, Inter are also fourth in the standings after an inconsistent start to the domestic campaign.