'Absolutely': Rene Meulensteen makes Arsenal Champions League claim after win vs Napoli
Former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulensteen believes Arsenal can absolutely win the Champions League this season.
The Gunners ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title last term. They finished seven points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.
The club also came close to lifting their maiden Champions League crown, but Paris Saint-Germain denied them in Budapest in a penalty shoot-out.
Arsenal have made good progress in Europe’s elite competition, reaching the quarter-final, semi-final and final over the past three campaigns.
In an interview with BestBettingSites, Meulensteen said that the Gunners will use their Champions League heartbreak last term as fuel to go all the way this time around.
He said: “Arsenal can absolutely win the Champions League. They have proven they can reach the final, and once you get to a one-off final, anything is possible.
“They have matured into real winners after persisting through those seasons where they fell just short. Winning the Premier League title gave them that ultimate belief, and they will use their European heartbreak as fuel to go one step further.”
Arsenal face stern Champions League challenge
The Gunners exceeded expectations to reach the Champions League final last season. They gave a good showing in the final too and took Les Parisiens all the way to a penalty shoot-out (1-1 in regulation time).
Arsenal played with a highly defensive mindset after going 1-0 up early against PSG. This proved costly as Christian Mosquera conceded an unfortunate second-half penalty, which was converted.
Mikel Arteta’s side will try again for the European crown this term but face a sterner challenge, considering they had some luck with the draw during the knockout stage last term.
Arsenal faced Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 before taking on Sporting CP and Atletico Madrid en route to the final. The other side of the draw consisted of PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, among others.
The Gunners can expect a tougher knockout stage this time. Before that, the club must finish in the top eight of the league phase to reach the last 16 and avoid a knockout play-off round.
That won’t be easy with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Betis among the clubs to face in the league. Dortmund and Betis beat Arsenal during the recent pre-season.
Hence, there is a long way to go before the Gunners can dream of winning an elusive Champions League title. Arsenal started their European campaign on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Napoli on the road.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
The post 'Absolutely': Rene Meulensteen makes Arsenal Champions League claim after win vs Napoli first appeared on ArsenalNews.co.uk.
