“He needs a trophy” - Gary Neville names club he wants to see win Champions League as Arsenal, PSG, Barcelona and Inter face off
Manchester United legend Gary Neville mentioned that he would like to see Arsenal win the UEFA Champions League this season. The Gunners have yet to win the title in their history.
The Champions League semi-finalists this season include Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Barcelona, and Inter Milan. The Gunners are set to clash against the Parisiens, while Barca and Inter will face each other. Among them, the Gunners remain among the top favorites, especially after their exceptional performance against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The North London side won both legs (3-0 and 2-1) against Los Blancos, knocking them out with a 5-1 aggregate victory.
In a conversation on the StickToFootball podcast, former Red Devils icon Gary Neville named Arsenal as his favorites to win the Champions League. He believed coach Mikel Arteta deserves a trophy, and said (via The Standard):
"I wouldn’t mind seeing Arsenal win it at all. I’d want them to win it. I want them to win it for Arteta really. I think being there five years, he needs that big trophy. He needs a trophy."
This season marks the first time the North London club have reached the Champions League semi-finals since the 2008-09 season. In that season, they lost to Manchester United in the semi-finals. Barcelona eventually won the title that season after beating the Red Devils in the final.
Jamie Carragher explains why he doesn't want Arsenal to win the Champions League this season
In a conversation alongside Gary Neville on the StickToFootball podcast, Jamie Carragher also weighed in on this season's Champions League semi-finalists. The former Liverpool man explained he does not want the Gunners to win the title.
"I can’t say I’d like to see Arsenal win it because I’d just be lying. I don’t like to see other English teams winning big European competitions," Carragher said (via The Standard)
Carragher's former club, Liverpool, was eliminated from the tournament after a 4-1 loss to PSG on penalties in the Round of 16, following a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, the Parisiens remain contenders to win their first Champions League this season. Speaking about Luis Enrique's side, Carragher said:
"If PSG won it, it’s almost good for the game in that they’ve had had the Messi, Neymar and Mbappe and almost come away from that. Not young kids, but young, energetic, top players. More of a team. If you’re Mbappe, you leave to go to Real Madrid and they’re all over the place."
Apart from PSG and Arsenal, Barcelona and Inter Milan also remain contenders. Barcelona have been exceptional under coach Hansi Flick and are also table toppers in LaLiga. They will face Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. If they can win all three trophies, they can win the historic treble after 10 years since the 2014-15 season.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan were knocked out of the Coppa Italia after a 4-1 aggregate loss to AC Milan in the semi-finals. They are table leaders in the Serie A with the same points as Napoli, i.e, 71 points from 33 games.
