Owen Hargreaves highlights two reasons why Arsenal won’t win Champions League

Arsenal are erstwhile again successful the hunt for the Premier League – but Owen Hargreaves believes it’s excessively soon to statement Mikel Arteta’s broadside arsenic contenders successful the Champions League.

Back successful Europe’s premier nine contention for a 2nd successive play aft a seven-year absence, the Gunners are amongst the favourites to scope the last successful Munich.

But Mikel Arteta volition person his enactment chopped retired for him to crook astir the Gunners’ fortunes successful the competition, having seen the erstwhile run extremity successful an all-too-familiar manner erstwhile they were outthought by Bayern Munich successful the quarter-finals.

A stoic derby-day triumph implicit Tottenham connected Sunday demonstrated an Arsenal broadside that are capable to triumph ugly, but Hargreaves believes Arteta’s broadside inactive person a batch to larn erstwhile it comes to occurrence connected the continent.

‘I don’t cognize if it’s naivety but I deliberation they’re beauteous inexperienced astatine that level,’ Hargreaves told Metro.co.uk ahead of the Champions League’s instrumentality connected TNT Sports.

‘I can’t deliberation of galore who had been determination earlier past play – Jorginho was astir apt 1 of the fewer guys, Gabriel Jesus but helium was a squad subordinate astatine City – truthful I deliberation it takes time.

‘You saw that successful those Bayern games, and Bayern were struggling astatine that constituent but were astir apt worthy winners implicit the 2 legs. So I deliberation it takes a spot of time.’

In that sense, Arteta’s hunt for acquisition volition beryllium boosted by the deadline-day acquisition of Raheem Sterling, but questions inactive linger implicit their extent successful cardinal positions, peculiarly astatine striker.

Kai Havertz has impressed nether the load of work truthful far, but Hargreaves isn’t definite the German’s exploits volition beryllium capable connected his ain successful the Champions League.

‘Raheem Sterling connected indebtedness is rather absorbing due to the fact that helium gives them experiences and other extent to springiness them idiosyncratic who’s benignant of been determination successful those games and understands what it takes,’ helium added.

‘Kai Havertz has done an astonishing occupation arsenic a striker but I’m possibly somewhat amazed that they didn’t adhd 1 different subordinate to assistance out.

‘We’ve seen it’s hard [to triumph the Champions League] – look astatine Paris Saint-Germain who person invested billions and haven’t been capable to win.

‘I bash deliberation that Arsenal are going up – they’ll triumph trophies. But the contention gets fiercer each twelvemonth and that deficiency of extent could outgo them.’

Fans are ‘going to love’ caller league format

Both Arsenal and fans volition person to marque a flimsy accommodation this play arsenic the Champions League evolves distant from its accepted four-team radical format to a league signifier

The alteration has not received cosmopolitan praise but portion Hargreaves saw nary request for the switch, the erstwhile Manchester United midfielder thinks it could yet enactment to the tournament’s benefit.

‘The aged format was truthful successful, wasn’t it? It felt similar the teams utilized to get amended each year. We were utilized to it and, arsenic the saying goes, if it’s not broke, don’t hole it,’ helium began.

‘But we person seen European competitions germinate each the time. You get much games and bigger games successful the radical stages and determination are much teams successful it that astir apt wouldn’t person the accidental before.

‘I look astatine likes of Girona and Stuttgart and Brest. They’re going to beryllium chill stories. One of the archetypal games you person got Real Madrid versus Stuttgart which is specified a chill game. Defending champions against a squad that hasn’t been anyplace adjacent that for astir apt a decade. That’s astir apt an illustration of what’s to come.

‘I deliberation successful the end, radical are going to emotion it, but radical find alteration precise difficult, particularly erstwhile it’s been truthful successful. So let’s see.’

Secret to winning the Champions League? It’s simple…

A two-time victor of the competition, with Bayern successful 2001 and United successful 2008, the 43-year-old is well-versed connected what is required to beryllium palmy successful the competition.

But the secret, astatine slightest for Hargreaves, was comparatively simple.

‘Play for bully teams?’ the erstwhile England midfielder joked erstwhile asked astir what it takes to triumph the competition.

‘To beryllium honest, I didn’t adjacent deliberation I was gonna beryllium a pro arsenic a young kid. So to beryllium capable to spell and really adjacent vie successful the championships and past triumph it a mates of times was crazy.

‘Sometimes I really hide I played shot successful a mode due to the fact that it feels longer, but I was precise blessed to play for immoderate large teams and person immoderate astonishing teammates.

‘But we weren’t the champion squad successful either year,’ helium continued. There were teams arsenic bully arsenic america – Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid – but we were conscionable truly bully erstwhile we needed to beryllium successful the close moment.

‘That’s what the Champions League is about. You evidently person to get done the radical oregon the caller league format now.

‘And past erstwhile you get to knockouts, the champion players, the champion squad to person it erstwhile they request it. That’s a fact.

‘That’s what we had. We had guys that were conscionable truly bully erstwhile you needed to beryllium and I deliberation that’s what top-level athletics is about, not conscionable football.’

TNT Sports is the location of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. TNT Sports is disposable done its streaming destination discovery+ and crossed each large TV platforms. This isn’t Just Sport, This is Everything. For much info visit: tntsports.co.uk/football

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