Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has made a bold statement ahead of this year's Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. The former England international believes the Gunners will emerge victorious on Saturday, May 30.
Arsenal and PSG Reach the Final
Arsenal defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinals, with Bukayo Saka scoring a decisive goal in the second leg. The North London side had earlier played out a 1-1 draw in Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, overcame Bayern Munich with a thrilling 6-5 aggregate victory. After a 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, PSG secured their place in the final in Budapest.
Both clubs are meeting for the second time in two years, as the French champions stopped the Gunners in the semifinal last season.
Ferdinand's Prediction
Speaking on his podcast Rio Ferdinand Presents, the former Manchester United defender explained that PSG's weakness at set-pieces will be their downfall. Ferdinand said: "I said Arsenal would win the Premier League this year and I think Arsenal will win the league. And I now think that Arsenal are going to win the UEFA Champions League, guys."
He elaborated: "Let me explain myself. Paris Saint-Germain are the better team, 100 per cent. Right now, they've got the team, they're the better footballing team, better style of play, they're the best team on the planet to watch and their manager is the best right now at this point. But they look uncomfortable at set-pieces. Even Bayern Munich, who aren't great at set-pieces, they made them look uncomfortable and I've seen it many times this season."
Ferdinand highlighted Arsenal's strength in dead-ball situations: "Arsenal are the best team in the Premier League at set-pieces and if they get set-pieces and free-kicks and corners, they are going to cause absolute carnage against that small PSG team. PSG are absolutely certain and confident in every facet of their game bar set-pieces. And that's where Arsenal are strong."
Supercomputer Backs Arsenal
According to Opta's supercomputer, Arsenal have a 55.76% chance of winning their first-ever Champions League title, while PSG's chance of successfully defending their title stands at 44.24%.
