Arsenal great Ian Wright has named Manchester City as his top UEFA Champions League choice this campaign, sharing his thoughts on the Gunners’ chances in the process.
Manchester City, who lifted their maiden Champions League trophy last June, are set to face Danish side Copenhagen in their last-16 two-legged encounter. On the other hand, Mikel Arteta’s team will lock horns with Portuguese outfit Porto in their pre-quarters contest.
Ahead of this month’s Champions League last-16 matches, Wright was queried to predict the winners of this season’s tournament. He replied to the Stick to Football podcast (h/t TEAMtalk):
“I think Manchester City are going to do it. I’d love Arsenal to win it. If we got there in the final with City, I’d feel more confident.”
Explaining why Arsenal might fail to go all the way, Wright continued:
“You’ve got to be more ruthless with the chances. You’ve got to see games off so that you can relax in games. At the moment, we’re not taking those chances even though in the end, we won the game. If we could take those chances, I’d be more confident going to places because we’re defending a lot better.”
Manchester City, who are currently level with Arsenal on 49 Premier League points with a game in hand, have scored 87 goals in 35 overall outings so far this season. The Gunners, in comparison, have found the back of the net 66 times in 33 games across all competitions.
Arsenal offered boost in race to sign striker
Over the last couple of months, Arsenal have reportedly been linked with a number of strikers. They were said to be closely monitoring Ivan Toney as a top target past month, with Chelsea also in the transfer race.
Earlier this week, Brentford manager Thomas Frank admitted that Toney is likely to depart the Gtech Community Stadium at the end of the 2023-24 season. He stated (h/t TEAMtalk):
“It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer. It can be ‘expensive’ to sell your best player, but conversely I also know that this summer he only has one year left on his contract with us. We also know what he is worth. I don’t think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now.”
Since making his Premier League debut in August 2021, Toney has popped up as one of the best finishers in England. The 27-year-old has contributed 34 goals and nine assists in his last 67 league matches.
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