{"id":435,"date":"2026-03-18T11:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=435"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:35:32","slug":"troy-deeney-names-two-clubs-that-will-deny-arsenal-the-champions-league-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=435","title":{"rendered":"Troy Deeney names two clubs that will deny Arsenal the Champions League | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ex-Premier League striker Troy Deeney (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Troy Deeney has praised Arsenal\u2019s ability to \u2018grind teams down\u2019 and \u2018get over the line\u2019 but says they are unlikely to overcome two rivals in the Champions League.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta\u2019s side booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen in the round-of-16.<\/p>\n

Arsenal topped the Champions League group stage but needed a late Kai Havertz penalty to avoid defeat in last week\u2019s first leg against Leverkusen.<\/p>\n

The Gunners had home advantage in the second leg, however, and sealed a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice.<\/p>\n

Deeney insists Arsenal are \u2018answering every question\u2019 both domestically and in Europe but doubts they will go on to win their first Champions League title.<\/p>\n

The former Premier League striker even thought Bayer Leverkusen were \u2018better\u2019 than Arsenal for large periods and says he would back both PSG and Bayern Munich to eliminate the Gunners in Europe.<\/p>\n

Champions League holders PSG thrashed Arsenal\u2019s London rivals Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the last-16 while Bayern have an insurmountable 6-1 lead over Atalanta ahead of their second leg on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Arsenal\t<\/div>
Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen to reach the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It\u2019s\u00a0interesting\u00a0because I was watching the Arsenal game and thinking what you can say about them,\u2019 Deeney said on CBS Sports.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re\u00a0winning football games, 100%, but they gave Leverkusen a lot of chances in terms of breaking through the lines and getting out wide.<\/p>\n

\u2018Leverkusen kept stopping and trying to rebuild but Sporting\u00a0(who Arsenal face in the quarter-finals)\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0do that, they will be direct and get crosses in.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Chelsea\t<\/div>
PSG battered Arsenal\u2019s London rivals Chelsea (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018But Arsenal love that, the two centre-backs love crosses into the box so I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0really put my finger on who it suits.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you ask me right here, right now, do\u00a0I think Arsenal\u00a0win the Champions League? I would say no.<\/p>\n

\u2018The feeling I get with them is there is more for you to give for me, but then\u00a0again\u00a0they keep winning games and answering\u00a0every\u00a0question.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I think they can do more and can be\u00a0fantastic\u00a0but do\u00a0I think they\u00a0beat PSG? No. Do I think in a two-legged game they beat Bayern Munich? No. I know they beat them in the group stage but over two legs?<\/p>\n

\u2018The point\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0making\u00a0is when you watch\u00a0Arsenal\u00a0they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0give you a sense\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0going to win the Champions\u00a0League\u00a0but you do expect them to get the job down so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a weird feeling.<\/p>\n

\u2018The only criticism\u00a0I have of Arsenal\u00a0at the moment\u00a0is the performances. They won the game, they were great, but it took a massive save from David Raya to keep a clean sheet and they still gave up moments.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I thought in terms of the performance Bayer Leverkusen were better, they played the better stuff.<\/p>\n

\u2018But Arsenal just\u00a0keep\u00a0grinding you down and know they\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0make mistakes. They\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have that in the backend of Arsene\u00a0Wenger\u00a0but they have that now.<\/p>\n

\u2018They have this horrible, steely nastiness to get over the line under Mikel Arteta.\u2019<\/p>\n

Arsenal looked set to face Bodo-Glimt in the quarter-finals after the Norwegian side beat Portuguese champions Sporting 3-0 in the first leg.<\/p>\n

But Sporting produced an incredible comeback to win the last-16 tie 5-3 on aggregate and set up an intriguing clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal.<\/p>\n

Arteta\u2019s side still have outside hopes of a historic quadruple and can win their first trophy of the season on Sunday when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.<\/p>\n

Man City head to Wembley having slipped nine points behind Arsenal in the title race and been knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Frank Leboeuf mocks Liam Rosenior decision against PSG \u2013 \u2018It\u2019s crazy and insane\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Enzo Fernandez tipped to join Champions League club after Chelsea\u2019s defeat to PSG<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/svg>MORE: Arsenal star Declan Rice sends message to Man City ahead of Carabao Cup final<\/span><\/p>\n
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