McManaman Names Two Champions League Favourites, Snubs Arsenal:
McManaman Names Two Champions League Favourites, Snubs Arsenal:
Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman has left Arsenal out of his two favourites to win this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal continued their perfect start to the campaign on Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Serie A outfit Napoli.
Martin Odegaard maintained his impressive scoring run, netting the decisive goal in the 75th minute to secure all three points for Mikel Arteta’s side in Naples.
The Gunners enjoyed an impressive run in the competition last season, reaching the final before suffering a heartbreaking defeat to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout.
With Arsenal further strengthening their squad during the summer transfer window, the north London club are widely expected to challenge for the title again this season.
However, McManaman believes Arsenal face stiff competition from PSG and Barcelona, whom he considers the leading contenders for the trophy.
Speaking on TNT Sports, the former England international said PSG remain the team to beat after winning the competition in each of the past two seasons.
“PSG are the favourites, of course, as they have won it for the last two years,” McManaman said.
He also backed Barcelona to mount a serious challenge, praising their attacking strength and impressive domestic form.
“I believe Barcelona are very strong; they have performed excellently in La Liga. They appear capable of scoring every time they advance, and they currently have six forwards, which is advantageous.
“They are certainly contenders. They have improved from last year, so they will be in contention.”
PSG began their Champions League title defence in emphatic fashion, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1, while Barcelona also made a strong statement with a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord.
Meanwhile, Liverpool recorded their first European victory under manager Andoni Iraola after coming from behind to defeat Atletico Madrid 2-1.