Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have made their predictions for Arsenal’s crunch Champions League semi-final second-leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
Mikel Arteta’s team are looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in north London when they travel to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday evening. The Gunners are seeking to reach a first final in Europe’s elite competition since 2006 when they went on to lose to Barcelona in Paris.
Arsenal know that Wednesday’s game is their last chance to salvage an otherwise mediocre campaign by their own recent standards. While a top-five finish in the Premier League is likely, Arteta’s men have been some way off newly crowned champions Liverpool and are in a fight to finish second in the table with Manchester City now hot on their heels.
But reaching the Champions League final by seeing off an impressive PSG team will silence some of Arteta’s critics. On the Rest is Football podcast, when Shearer asked Lineker if he thinks it’s going to be a PSG-Inter final, he replied: “I think that’s what it will be, not (saying it) with any great confidence.
“I don’t think Arsenal are completely out of it, but I think it’s a tough ask for them to go there with a relatively young side and (overturn it).”
Shearer later revealed his prediction: “I think PSG will beat Arsenal and I think there will be a twist in the Inter-Barca game, but I think Barca will just edge it. So, PSG-Barca final.”
The Gunners have never won the Champions League and have not lifted a major trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020. Looking ahead to Wednesday’s game, Arteta has urged his players to harness their rage from Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth.
“A positive result would really help us to build what we wanted towards Wednesday,” he told reporters. “So what we have created now is a lot of rage, anger, frustration, and a bad feeling in the tummy.
“So [we must] make sure that we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game, and be in the final.” (footbal.london)
