Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has given his verdict on his old side’s upcoming clash with PSG in the Champions League semi-final.
The Gunners have their sights firmly set on the final four of the competition, looking to give themselves the best chance possible of winning the whole thing.
Arsenal beat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals to book their place in the semi-finals, with PSG now standing in their way.
The first leg will be played at the Emirates Stadium, where the north London crowd will be looking to replicate the atmosphere from the previous round to power their team onto victory.
A tough second leg at the Parc des Princes awaits, where Mikel Arteta will see if this Arsenal team can make just a second Champions League final in the club’s history.
Ahead of such a meeting, predictions have already been flying in as the match draws closer and closer.
Paul Merson backs Arsenal to beat PSG in Champions League semi-final showdown
Heading into the huge showdown in the Champions League semi-finals, plenty of predictions have already been made.
Fabio Capello has predicted Arsenal to win, with the legendary manager being very complimentary of the style that the Gunners play.
That isn’t the case for everyone, as Rio Ferdinand has backed PSG to win and book their place in the Champions League final.
As for Paul Merson, a former Arsenal player himself, he has predicted the Gunners to get the job done over two legs.
He told Sky Sports: “I think Arsenal win over two legs, I think we still get carried away with the PSG of the first leg against Liverpool when they played at the Stade de France [sic, Parc des Princes] and were outstanding, one of the best team performances we’ve seen this from anyone.
“They still lost that game. They lost that game 1-0, people still forget that. They were outstanding, I thought they were hanging on, absolutely hanging on at Anfield.
“Then they go and play Villa and dominated Villa. But they scored the last kick of the game, which worked out to be a priceless goal in the end to go 3-1 up.
“Then they went to Villa Park and at times in that game it got to stages where you were thinking there’s only one winner here and that’s Aston Villa and they had them on the rack.
“I think Arsenal have every chance, I’d just slightly go with Arsenal over PSG over two legs. I think Arsenal are very disciplined, and I think Arsenal win this.”
It shows how well matched the two teams are that they have played well and got to this point in the competition, with opinion firmly split between them.
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How likely are Arsenal to win the Champions League this season?
With the Champions League now reaching the final four, the competition is wide open in regards to who could win it.
Arsenal will fancy their chances, with PSG, Barcelona and Inter Milan all looking to stake their claim as well.
According to OPTA, the Gunners have the best chance of the lot, with their simulations giving a 28.7% chance to the side.
Inter Milan follows with 25.5%, before PSG on 24% and finally Barcelona with 21.8% in fourth place.
It suggests that Arsenal are favourites now to make it all the way, but football is never played on paper and can only be won on the pitch.
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