Former Arsenal star Bacary Sagna has made a bold prediction, stating that the Gunners could still catch Liverpool in the Premier League title race and also tipping Paris Saint-Germain to defeat Arne Slot‘s side in Europe. Despite Liverpool sitting 13 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, having played one game more than their closest rivals, Sagna remains optimistic.
He recalls his time with Arsenal during the 2007-08 season when they squandered a five-point lead due to an injury to striker Eduardo. Sagna, who also experienced a Champions League exit at the hands of Ligue 1 opposition while at Manchester City, believes it would take a significant collapse for Liverpool to lose ground in both competitions.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Sagna said: “The season is not over. It’s going to be difficult to catch Liverpool but when I look at the game they played against Paris Saint-Germain, I’m thinking maybe sometimes they’re going to have times where they don’t perform so well, as it was the other night.”‘
“Perhaps this is where Arsenal can start to close the gap. The gap is significant now, but it might be reduced. You never know. I believe Paris have a good chance of progressing to the Champions League stage, so then the mood will dip. At the moment, Liverpool is soaring, of course, due to their results, but you never know. Football can change very quickly and in an instant they could lose the slight advantage they currently have.”
Sagna, who also played for Manchester City, isn’t alone in refusing to view Liverpool’s Champions League tie as a done deal. PSG managed 27 shots to Liverpool’s two in the first leg, and only a series of impressive saves from goalkeeper Alisson kept them at bay before Elliott’s goal. “We have nothing to lose,” Luis Enrique, the manager of the French club, told TNT Sports after the first leg.
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“Liverpool is the best team in Europe this year and today they created one or two chances maximum and we created a lot. I’m very proud of my players, my team, the supporters, and I think that’s the key moving forward.”
Midfielder Vitinha was even more confident, telling Canal+: “We’re going to win there. With the match we played, the victory was more than deserved. Like at the start of the season, we had lots of opportunities, but we failed to score.”
