ALAN SHEARER PREDICTS ARSENAL VS PSG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL SHOWDOWN
Alan Shearer tips PSG to stop Arsenal’s Champions League hunt despite a 3-1 masterclass against Inter Milan.
Alan Shearer thinks Paris Saint-Germain will be the team to stop Arsenal from lifting their first Champions League trophy, even after the Gunners' impressive win over Inter Milan.
Petar Sucic equalised after Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring, but another goal from Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres’ third of the tournament sealed the win for Arsenal. Now, Arsenal sit at the top of their group, perfect so far with seven wins from seven.
Still, Shearer believes Arsenal will struggle when they meet PSG later in the competition. Chatting on Amazon Prime before Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Inter, Shearer said, “You can’t deny Arsenal have a real shot this year. But honestly, after what PSG did last season and looking at the players they’ve got, I’m leaning towards them. Arsenal will be close, though.”
Asked who he thinks PSG would beat in the final, Shearer replied, “Probably Arsenal. I don’t think it’ll be a 5-0 again if they meet in the final. Arsenal have real confidence now, and you can see it in their squad depth. Even when they rotate, they’re still strong—a team that can go anywhere and win, like they did tonight at Inter. That’ll help them in the big moments, so for me, PSG and Arsenal are the two favourites.”
Shearer also pointed out that getting Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus fit again will be huge for Arsenal as they chase their first Premier League title since 2004. “I think they’ll win the Premier League with their seven-point lead. It was a great weekend for them, with City and Villa both dropping points,” he said. “Their squad is so deep. They can make changes and don’t seem to miss a beat. Now they’re getting key players like Jesus and Havertz back from injury. Defensively, that’s their biggest strength for me—they just don’t give much away at the back. I think they’ll go on and do it.”
Even with Arsenal pulling ahead of Manchester City in the league, Shearer still expects City to push them all the way. “City will keep the pressure on Arsenal, no doubt,” he said. “Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi are great signings. You’ve already seen Semenyo make an impact, even if it wasn’t his best weekend. Their real issue is at the back—they needed help at centre-back, and Guehi gives them that. City will push Arsenal because of their experience, but honestly, I think Arsenal have enough and will get it done.”
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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