Alan Shearer predicts Arsenal will do something that hasn’t happened for 25 years

Arsenal will be wanting to put right the wrongs of last year’s agonising Champions League final defeat.

Mikel Arteta’s side had one hand on the trophy last season after they led PSG 1-0 for the majority of the game in Budapest, but it wasn’t to be.

This year, they head into the competition as one of the favourites — the favourites according to Opta’s supercomputer.

It may have only been 1-0, but Arsenal absolutely battered Napoli in their opening game, generating 26 shots and 4.05 xG. That’s the most shots they have ever had in a single Champions League game and more than double the xG that any team has ever had in Naples in the competition.

They look really, really strong. But Alan Shearer thinks it will end in heartbreak again.

Asked who will win the Champions League by Prime Video Sport, Shearer said: “I think Barcelona will beat Arsenal in the final this year — just.”

If he is right, Arsenal would become the first club to lose back-to-back Champions League finals since Valencia in 2001. Not exactly the sort of history you want to create but you can’t help but feel that would be ‘very Arsenal’.

Who are the favourites for the Champions League this season?

To be fair, Barcelona are flying. We know the quality they have in attack with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, but now they have Rodri in midfield. He will provide the quality, experience, and maturity that could make the difference for them.

There’s also PSG, obviously. We don’t need to remind you how strong they are. And there’s Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, who can’t ever be written off in Europe.

But Arsenal should be in the mix.

The heartbreak of Budapest will have hardened this group, and they will be obsessed with finishing the job.

The depth in defence and midfield is genuinely world class. If there’s one thing that could let Arsenal down, it’s exactly what the Napoli game illustrated — the lack of ruthless finishing and ‘killers’. Against the very top sides, that wastefulness will be punished.

But if Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard stay fit, Arsenal are in far better shape than they were last season — and they reached the final then.