^ ^ Joe Cole backs Premier League team to win Champions League

Arsenal have a huge chance to end their wait for Champions League glory, says Joe Cole (Picture: Getty)

Joe Cole has backed Arsenal to win this year’s Champions League, telling fans to ‘book their tickets’ for the final in Budapest as the draw has ‘opened up’ for the Gunners.

Arsenal enjoyed an outstanding group-stage campaign to sail through to the last 16 of this year’s competition, winning eight from eight while conceding only four goals.

It saw Mikel Arteta’s men finish top of the league phase with a three point advantage over six-time European champions Bayern Munich.

The Premier League leaders were joined by a strong English contingent in the next round as Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester City also secured top-eight finishes, while Newcastle advanced via the play-offs.

Last Friday, all eyes were on the round of 16 draw at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where Arsenal discovered that they will be doing battle with Bayer Leverkusen for a place in the quarter-finals.

European heavyweights Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain all find themselves on the other side of the draw, leading fans and pundits alike to talk up Arsenal’s chances of finally breaking their Champions League duck.

A quarter-final clash against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting awaits should Arteta’s side come through their two-legged last-16 contest with Leverkusen. Newcastle, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Spurs are the other teams on Arsenal’s side of the draw.

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The Gunners finished the league phase with a 100 per cent record (Picture: Getty)

The Gunners will lock horns with Bayer Leverkusen in the next round (Picture: Getty)

‘Every team that has won it for the last ten years is on one side: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, so it has opened up for Arsenal,’ ex-Chelsea, West Ham and England winger Cole said on The Dressing Room Podcast.

‘I think, personally, it’s going to be an Arsenal versus Manchester City final. I think it will be an epic.

‘I look at it, my only bet would be Arsenal going to the final. I’m not sure on the other side, with Manchester City you still don’t know because there’s too many good teams.

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‘Arsenal get to the final. They’re going to beat Bayer Leverkusen, they ain’t no cop [good], Sporting or Bodo/Glimt…’

On Arsenal’s chances, Cole concluded: ‘In summery, the Champions League draw, they’ve opened it up, someone has rolled it across the goal for Arsenal. They cannot blow it… or can they?

‘Arsenal fans, book your tickets for Budapest, in my opinion.’

Barcelona ‘can’t win’ the Champions League, says Cole (Picture: Getty)

Five-time winners Barcelona enter their last-16 tie with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle as the slight favourites to progress through to the quarter-finals.

However, Cole is not convinced by the high line that Hansi Flick tends to play and would be shocked to see the La Liga champions go all the way in this year’s competition.

‘Barcelona can’t win it, not with that high line. Hansi Flick plays a high line,’ he explained.

PSG thumped Inter in the final to win last year’s Champions League (Picture: Getty)

‘He won the Champions League six years ago with Bayern Munich when it was Covid and he played this way of football.

‘But I think football was a little bit… with Covid, there’s an asterisk there. I don’t think you can do it again with this Barcelona team.

‘So Arsenal are in the final for me and, yeah, I think they can do it.’

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Arsenal need to win the Premier League over the Champions League 🚨 A big question that could shape Arsenal’s future success: do they need to win the Premier League or the Champions League more? In the latest Real Quick Tho episode, we break it all down. #arsenal#championsleague #footballopinions #premierleaguefootball #footballfans

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Chelsea have a ‘very difficult’ task in knocking out the holders, says Cole (Picture: Getty)

PSG are set to enjoy a week off in between the two legs of their last-16 clash with Chelsea after it was agreed that their Ligue 1 match with Nantes could be moved.

According to Cole, this gives the Champions League holders a significant advantage and he is anticipating a ‘very difficult’ couple of games for his former club.

He said: ‘In between the two Chelsea games, PSG have just gone, “We’ll cancel that league game to prepare for it”.

‘Ligue 1 have helped PSG, they’ve moved it. It’s the equivalent of the Premier League going, “You know what? Forgot that game!”, Chelsea have to play Newcastle at home in between the legs… it’s a massive advantage [for PSG].

‘So I think Chelsea will find it very difficult to beat PSG under those circumstances.’

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^ ^ Iran football team refuses to sing national anthem moments before Asian Cup match

Iran players lined up in silence ahead of kick-off (Picture: Getty)

The Iran women’s team refused to sing the country’s national anthem ahead of their opening match of the Asian Cup.

South Korea beat Iran 3-0 in their group stage match on Monday night.

As the team lined up ahead of kick-off for customary pre-game anthems, cameras panned across the Iran team with each player starting straight ahead in silence at the Gold Coast Stadium.

Some of the players appeared to be holding back tears during the somber moment.

Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari was seen smiling from the touchline having earlier refused to answer questions on the military strikes and the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A small section of Iran supporters inside the stadium held aloft Pahalvi-era Iranian flags.

On Saturday, a joint US and Israel attack struck Tehran with Iran retaliating with a wave of attacks across the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

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Pahalvi-era Iranian flags were held aloft inside the stadium (Picture: Getty)

Iran will continue their Asian Cup campaign this week despite the chaos in the Middle East and in are in action again against competition hosts Australia on Thursday.

‘Obviously it’s really tough what’s going on around the world,’ Matildas captain Sam Kerr said this week.

Iran lost their opening group match 3-0 (Picture: Getty)

‘But you know, they’re just young girls and young footballers.

‘We’ll treat the game like any other game, show the team the utmost respect and prepare properly.’

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The conflict in the Middle East has raised huge doubts over the Iranian men’s national team and their participation in this summer’s World Cup, taking place in North America.

Iran are scheduled to play three games against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G, all on American soil – two in Los Angeles and the other in Seattle.

While there has been no official word on their participation, Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj has suggested they may have little choice but to withdraw.

 ‘With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that.’

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^ ^ Alan Shearer makes Arsenal title claim after win over Chelsea

Arsenal should hold off Manchester City and win the Premier League title, says Alan Shearer (Picture: Getty)

Alan Shearer isn’t surprised Arsenal have looked ‘nervy’ and ‘edgy’ in recent matches, but the ex-England striker is still backing Mikel Arteta’s men to ‘go ahead and do it’ in the race for the Premier League title.

Arsenal preserved their five-point lead at the top with a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Chelsea at the Emirates, but it was far from the most convincing performance and the league leaders were made to work for their victory.

The visitors had looked on course to take a point away from north London after Piero Hincapie directed the ball into his own net on the stroke of half-time to cancel out William Saliba’s headed opener.

The Gunners dug deep, though, and, for the second time in the contest, made their breakthrough came from a corner, with Jurrien Timber beating Robert Sanchez to restore the hosts’ advantage in the 66th minute.

While Chelsea were reduced to ten men following Pedro Neto’s sending off for a second bookable offence, David Raya had to be at his best to protect Arsenal lead’s with a fine save to deny Alejandro Garnacho in stoppage time.

‘A proper London derby,’ Arteta told reporters after his side’s win over the Club World Cup holders.

‘We expected that because of the quality of the opposition, because of the individual quality that they have, and because we played them four times already, so we know how good and difficult they are to play against.

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Arteta’s side sit five points clear at the top ahead of their midweek trip to Brighton (Picture: Getty)

Timber scored the winning goal at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)

‘After we started the game so well, the first half was very, very dominant. I think the margin and the scoreline should have been bigger. But we were 1-1, so game on.’

After Hincapie’s own goal, Arteta was keen to remind his players what had happened just a week earlier when they blew Tottenham away in a dominant second-half performance.

‘I reminded them that we were in exactly the same position against the Spurs seven days ago in that dressing room,’ he added.

‘They said, “Look what happened in the second half, so we’re going to do it again, but probably we’re going to have to go through some difficult patches to end the right to win the game.”

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‘We certainly did that. We took the moment to score the second goal and after the red card, we all expected a very different outcome in the last few minutes.

‘But we didn’t manage to control and dominate that scenario as well as we wanted.

‘On top of that, Chelsea did some very, very good things in that period and we needed David [Raya] to win us the game.’

City defeated Leeds to stay within five points of the leaders (Picture: Getty)

Timber’s header took Arsenal’s goals from set-pieces to 22 for the Premier League this season – a statistic that has been used against Arteta’s side by pundits and rival fans alike.

But despite the gritty nature of the victory and a perceived overreliance on dead-ball situations, Shearer – the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer – remains confident that Arsenal will go on and end their long wait for the trophy.

‘Yeah, I would perhaps go along with that [the suggestion Arsenal need to be better from an attacking perspective],’ Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast.

‘But I’d much prefer, obviously, to still be in their position. If they win every game then they win it. As do City, I guess, but I’m not too concerned with that. I just think the bigger picture is that they find a way.

Social media ‘noise’ is a constant distraction for modern-day players, says Shearer (Picture: Getty)

‘They found a way against Chelsea, they weren’t brilliant, but their set-pieces have done it for them again and there’s nothing wrong with that.

‘They’re going to be nervy, they’re going to be edgy because of the pressure that they’re under.

‘They’re human, I’ve been there myself, and it’s a huge ask, it is tough mentally and physically. It drains you.’

The Gunners have suffered just three league defeats this season (Picture: Getty)

According to Shearer, modern-day stars have it ‘worse’ than players during his time at the top in the Premier League due to the incessant ‘noise’ they face on a daily basis on social media.

‘I don’t care who or what you are, and it’s worse now than it was in the 1990s when we won it for the first time at Blackburn, because of the noise around social media and what have you,’ he explained.

‘We didn’t really have that and it was still very tough then.

‘I get that they’re not going to be perfect but they’re in a really strong position and I still think that they will go ahead and do it.’

Arsenal will look to tighten their grip on top spot when they return to Premier League action away to Brighton on Wednesday night.

Second-placed Manchester City welcome Nottingham Forest to the Etihad that same evening and will hope to keep keep themselves within touching distance after seeing off Leeds at the weekend.

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^ ^ Gary Neville predicts where Manchester United and Chelsea will finish this season

Michael Carrick is on course for an impressive finish this season (Picture: Getty Images)

Gary Neville feels he ‘definitely’ knows where Manchester United will finish this season and is pretty confident on Chelsea’s fate, but hopes they do worse than he predicts.

The title race is now officially down to just two teams after Aston Villa fell away from the leaders in recent weeks, leaving just Arsenal and Manchester City vying for the top prize.

There has been a serious shake-up in the top five, though, with Manchester United continuing their brilliant form under Michael Carrick.

The Red Devils remain unbeaten under the interim boss after beating Crystal Palace on Sunday, and are now up to third, ahead of Villa in fourth on goal difference.

Five teams are likely to get Champions League football next season, so the battle is on to finish in the top five, with Liverpool in fifth and Chelsea now lagging behind in sixth.

Brentford will not have given up on their chances of a remarkable Champions League finish, currently seventh, five points adrift of Liverpool in fifth.

Neville is now extremely confident that Manchester United will return to the Champions League in some style, by finishing third, but feels the positions below them are more contentious.

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Saturday: @ManCity beat Leeds to go just two points behind ArsenalSunday: @Arsenal beat Chelsea to regain their five-point lead🍿 pic.twitter.com/78rRbkWsle

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 1, 2026

‘I think United will definitely finish third,’ the Manchester United legend said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘I can’t believe I’m saying that from where they were six weeks ago. But, they’ve got no distractions, something good is going on, all the momentum.

‘I think Liverpool finish fourth and I think Chelsea will finish fifth. I hope Villa finish in the top five, I really do.

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior faces a huge game this week (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I’ve said before that their manager is an experienced and wise guy. If they get some players back; midfield players being injured have cost them in the last few weeks.

‘I just think it will Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. The only doubt will be Chelsea or Villa for fifth.

‘Injuries will be a big factor. Other competitions will be a big factor. At the moment, they’re in danger Villa. They’re vulnerable in terms of the Champions League places.’

Aston Villa’s title dreams have evaporated but Unai Emery can still make the Champions League (Picture: Getty Images)

Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday made it three games without a win for Liam Rosenior’s side, having drawn with Leeds and Burnley in their previous two outings.

The Blues have a crunch clash in the Champions League next as they go to Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Manchester United’s unbeaten run – which stretches to seven matches in all competitions – will be put to the test at Newcastle United on Wednesday.

The Magpies, who are into the last 16 of the Champions League, are nowhere near qualifying for Europe’s elite competition next season, sitting 13th after a home defeat to Everton over the weekend.

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