Gary Neville has rated Arsenal’s Champions League probabilities ahead of their huge semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid.
Mikel Arteta takes the Premier League leaders to the Spanish capital on Wednesday night for the primary leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal beat Portuguese champions Sporting within the quarters while Atletico caused an upset against La Liga rivals Barcelona to succeed in the semis.
The Gunners were the perfect team in Europe within the first-half of the season but have stuttered in recent weeks, falling short in each domestic cup competitions and suffering back-to-back defeats within the Premier League.
Atletico, meanwhile, have lost 4 of their last five games including a penalty shootout loss to Real Sociedad within the Copa del Rey final.
Neville still believes Atletico will prove to be hugely tricky customers for Arsenal, nonetheless, and doubts the Gunners will get past the Spanish side and potential finalists PSG or Bayern Munich.
‘That will probably be a giant struggle, Atletico are a team that suffocate you actually when it comes to the best way they play,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
‘There won’t be any prioritisation between the competitions because you have got to go for each. I feel these Arsenal players know they should win the Premier League they usually’re probably not considering that in regards to the Champions League.
‘A whole lot of these players don’t know the way to win a Champions League, but they’ve been so close within the title race they usually’ll be so desperate to not fall short in that.
‘I do think that Mikel Arteta has to go for each single game and never prioritise any over the opposite, but he knows that the Premier League is the one which’s easier to win than the Champions League at once.
‘I feel there are higher teams in there than them within the Champions League and it’s a cup competition.
‘They’ve got three games left they usually’ve only got 4 left within the league, so you might argue that it’s easy to win each.
‘But I don’t see them getting past Atletico Madrid and the opposite teams within the semi-final, but I do see them having a probability with the league.’
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an internet
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Meanwhile, ex-Arsenal defender Matthew Upson has backed his former club to beat Atletico Madrid and reach the Champions League final.
‘Arsenal are still looking strong in Europe, and I feel they’ve got an honest tie within the semis against Atletico Madrid,’ he told Ladbrokes.
‘It’s going to be cagey between those two sides, that’s obviously. I can see each games being relatively stale, to be honest.
‘But Arsenal have gotten an important probability of creating the ultimate, over the course of two legs. I can see them squeaking right into a final… I actually can. After which it’s a one-off game…
‘Are they going to be favourites against PSG or Bayern? Probably not, when it comes to how well those two teams are playing and where they’re at psychologically. However it’s a final, and anything can occur.
‘Do those fixtures create a much bigger problem of their Premier League push? Yeah, it’s quite the double-edged sword, isn’t it?
‘Man City can just about focus all of their attention on the Premier League now, and that’s an important position to be in.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the newest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE: Jamie Carragher names the sport that might cost Arsenal the title – ‘They’ve been unlucky’
MORE: Arsenal receive Kai Havertz injury update ahead of Atletico Madrid clash
MORE: Arsenal transfer chief Andrea Berta spotted watching €75 million striker