2026-05-27 13:35:40

Gary Neville thinks Champions League success is the “next step” in Arsenal’s evolution.

Mikel Arteta’s side lifted the Premier League trophy at the weekend and are currently preparing to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest, but Neville admits that they’ll go into the game as underdogs.

The former Manchester United captain – who won two Champions Leagues during his own playing career – told Sky Sports: “This is an incredible opportunity to stretch beyond anything you could ever imagine as an Arsenal fan, because they’ve never won that trophy. And that’s the next step after winning a league.

“I’m really happy for them for what they’ve achieved this week, they should celebrate it, and they have. But now they’ve got a Champions League final, if they can go win that next weekend, they’ll have beaten the best. They’ll have to beat a Luis Enrique Paris Saint-Germain team and a Pep Guardiola Manchester City team. That’s the way to do it.”

Neville thinks it would underline Arsenal’s quality if they were to defeat Paris Saint-Germain and manager Luis Enrique in the showpiece game.

The former England international hailed Enrique as “one of the greatest managers that Europe has seen in the last 10, 15 years”.

Neville said: “If you’re going to go and win your first Premier League title for 22 years, go and beat the greatest of all time. If you’re going to go and win the Champions League, go and beat the current holders and one of the greatest managers that Europe has seen in the last 10, 15 years.

“It’s going to be tough for them. PSG are a different level. They’ve got one of those managers who is just a serial winner, that horribleness inside them that they’ll do anything to win.”

Neville also observed that Enrique stands on the cusp of history.

He explained: “Luis Enrique is probably the greatest manager in the world right now, with Pep Guardiola. This is his moment. Arsenal are going to be right up against it. If you can win back-to-back Champions Leagues, you put yourself on a different planet. And that’s what he wants, he wants to beat all the records.

“It’s going to be very difficult for Arsenal because they’re up against a team that are special and know how to do it.

But they know how to defend. They’ve got some matchwinners themselves.”

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