After Liverpool’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Aston Villa are the only English sides left in this season’s Champions League.
Despite finishing top of the competition’s new league phase, Arne Slot’s team were handed a very tough draw against PSG, and the French side deserved to go through in truth.
Slot took the defeat magnanimously, and Liverpool will now try and regroup ahead of their Carabao Cup final this weekend and what remains in the Premier League.
Of course, Liverpool currently have a 15 point lead over Arsenal domestically, meaning the Gunners surely don’t have any realistic chance of staging a comeback.
Therefore, it’s all eyes on the Champions League for Arsenal, who will face Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid at the quarter-final stage.
Arne Slot calls Arsenal a ‘very good’ team after Liverpool’s Champions League exit
That being said, Slot gave a list of sides he thought could be victorious in Europe’s top competition during his post-match press conference.
The Liverpool manager was initially asked whether he thought PSG could go on to win the Champions League after knocking out his side, a statement the Dutchman agreed with.
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Slot said: “Yeah they can, they can, but unfortunately for them they’re not the only team that can win it.
“And it’s always about two games so luck and bad luck can play a part as well.”
Then asked if PSG were favourites, Slot felt the need to mention Arsenal’s chances, among some of Europe’s other heavyweights.
He replied: “I haven’t played all of them, I like Barcelona at the moment a lot as well, Arsenal has a very good team, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich is impressive.
“So it’s going to be close like it was tonight.”
Arsenal’s possible route to the Champions League final
Of course, it seems safe to say that Arsenal will navigate their second-leg against PSV Eindhoven given that they’re 7-1 up on aggregate.
And waiting for Arteta’s side in the quarter-final will then be one of the Madrid sides as mentioned.
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Should Arsenal progress from that tie – one they won’t be favourites for without a striker, it’s then likely to face PSG in the semi-finals, unless Villa can spring a surprise.
And without making too many assumptions, it will likely be one of Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan who will then await in the final.
If Arsenal are going to win the competition – they’ll certainly have to beat some extraordinary sides in doing so.
