Arsenal UCL Favorites?
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What were the highlights of the Champions League draw?
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We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now. Welcome in to the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas, joined by Craig Burley. Later on in the show, we'll be looking ahead to De Klassiker, of course, this weekend. And we'll be looking back at Aston Villa are 100% now out of the title race. We will kick things off, though, with the Champions League draw that was made earlier today. It's a really good draw in the sense that there are no teams from the same country who face off against each other. That's always good in the Champions League. It's excellent if you're an Arsenal fan. They are very much on the easier side of the bracket. They're drawn against Bayer Leverkusen. Bodo Grint, meanwhile, of course, very much the fairytale side, take on Sporting.
They'll play the winners of Arsenal against Bayer Leverkusen. The other side of that, Newcastle, Barca, Atletico Madrid, Spurs. But the other side of the bracket, Really competitive, very interested indeed. PSG against Chelsea. A repeat, of course, of the World Cup final. Galatasaray against Liverpool. Real Madrid and Manchester City face each other once again. And it's Atalanta against Bayern Munich. For more, let's welcome in... Oh no, let's just remind you, sorry, of the odds. No surprise. Arsenal, huge favourites now to go all the way and win their first ever Champions League. They're, I suppose, looking at the other side of the bracket and feel that Bayern Munich are the favourites there.
Liverpool 17-2, I suppose that's Galatasaray.
Well, yeah, you've got a lot of work to do as well from there as well. Ahead of PSG. Yeah, let's welcome in, shall we then, Jan-Arge Fjortoff, Julien Laurent, Craig here. Craig, if you're an Arsenal fan right now, you couldn't have asked for a better draw, really, could you?
Not really, no. And... You know, barring a disaster, they should make relatively comfortable work over 180 minutes of Leverkusen and then it doesn't get that much tougher until potentially the semi-finals. So a really good draw from their perspective. I think if you said to Mikel Arteta, what do you want? Pretty much that's what he would have taken. You can see a pathway for them, not trying to get ahead of ourselves.
Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself, an Arsenal fan.
Why are Arsenal considered favorites in their bracket?
You're thinking Bodo Glint?
Yeah, I know. You're thinking Bayer Leverkusen? No, I know, but sometimes as a player and a manager, you just... All right, God, this is like manager talk. One game at a time, tough opponents, no easy games for the Champions League.
Come on, Burley, it's a gift, it's a lay-up.
Well... Yeah, it's about as easy as it's going to get for them, but they've still got to go out and get the job done. I think they will. I think Arsenal are pretty much nailed on at the moment, I would say, to be at least in the semi-finals. And bearing in mind they're the favourites to win the Premier League, and if they go on a run in that competition, they could put that to bed. a little bit earlier as well. They should have been a way further ahead than they are in that. So, yeah, I mean, they've got a Carabao Cup final coming up, still in the FA Cup. When are we talking about the quadruple, which we did with Liverpool last year, and it fell flat on its face.
This, I think, Arsenal fans will be happy is a slightly different situation. Jules, with your Arsenal allegiance, you can beat anyone on that side of the bracket comfortably at the moment.
Yeah, I think this is very good. Obviously, we knew one half of the draw would be easier than the other. And when you look at them both right now, there's one side where you have one former winner of the Champions League out of eight. That's the Arsenal side. The other side, you've got six out of those eight who are previous winners, including the reigning champions, obviously, in PSG.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the highlights of the Champions League draw?
0:00–2:35
2
Why are Arsenal considered favorites in their bracket?
2:35–4:47
3
What are the standout matchups in the Round of 16?
4:47–5:28
4
How do Man City and Real Madrid compare in their matchup?
5:28–5:39
5
What challenges do Chelsea face against PSG?
5:39–11:59
6
What factors could influence Arsenal's success in the UCL?
11:59–13:31
7
How does the upcoming Der Klassiker impact the title race?
13:31–14:31
8
What are the predictions for the quarter-finals of the UCL?
14:31–58:08
Speakers
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