Can Arsenal stop Man City from winning back-to-back Champions League titles?
The 2023/24 UCL is officially underway, with Manchester City kicking off their defence with a 3-1 comeback win over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night. Following on from their remarkable treble win, the Citizens are the favourites for the crown again this season as they aim to become only the second side in history, after Real Madrid, to win the Champions League in consecutive years.
Gunners legend Paul Merson certainly believes they’ll do it, ranking Pep Guardiola’s City higher than Zinedine Zidane’s Real side that won three titles in a row from 2016 to 2018. He said on Sky Sports: ‘I think they’re [City] the team to beat. I think they’re head and shoulders above everybody, in my opinion.’
Who can challenge Man City?
But when it came to predicting who would be the Citizens’ nearest challengers, Merson boldly put forward his former club, despite Mikel Arteta’s squad lacking experience in the competition. He said: ‘When you look at the teams like Bayern Munich, Arsenal, PSG… I think for me the danger would be Arsenal. They’ve got good players. Declan Rice coming in, I know he’s not played in the Champions League but these are international pros. They’ve played in big tournaments, you know in European championships, World Cups which, to be honest, is bigger than the Champions League in my opinion.’
Arsenal take on PSV, Sevilla and Lens in the group, kicking off their first Champions League campaign for over six years against the Dutch side tonight.
Champions League 2023/24 Winner Odds
Champions League 2023/24winner odds
Man City – 2/1
Bayern Munich – 11/2
Real Madrid – 7/1
Arsenal – 10/1
Barcelona – 11/1
PSG – 14/1
Inter Milan – 20/1
Napoli – 25/1
Newcastle – 25/1
Man Utd – 25/1
Atletico Madrid – 25/1
Odds courtesy of Betfair
Conclusion
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal can challenge Manchester City for the Champions League title this season. While they lack experience in the competition, they have some talented players and could prove to be a dangerous team if they make it through the group stage. However, with City being head and shoulders above everyone else, it will be a tough task for the Gunners to stop them from winning back-to-back titles.
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