Champions League win for Arsenal ‘as big as the Invincibles’ as Vieira rates Gunners chances
Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira thinks the Gunners winning the Champions League this season would be “as big” for the club as their Invincibles season.
The Gunners have had an average season in the Premier League with Mikel Arteta’s men set to be runners-up for a third consecutive season.
But they have impressed in the Champions League with Arsenal overcoming Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to line up a semi-final clash against French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG won the first leg 1-0 thanks to an early Ousmane Dembele strike but Arsenal had some good chances of their own and they will head to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday thinking they can overturn to one-goal deficit.
And Vieira reckons winning the Champions League would be on par with his side’s Invincibles achievement back in 2003/04 Premier League season.
Vieira asked: “How many times have Arsenal won the Champions League?” After waiting for the reply “zero”, Vieira added in an interview with the Daily Telegraph: “Exactly.
“So this group of players would be remembered as much as the Invincibles [if they win the Champions League] because they would achieve something really quite special for the football club. For me, they would be as important and as big as the Invincibles.”
Declan Rice has been an amazing signing for Arsenal, which has helped take Arteta’s side to the next level, and the England international has been likened to Vieira at times.
Vieira continued: “I don’t like to make comparisons, because I think we are all different with our strengths and weaknesses, But I think first is all the credit with the manager, with Mikel [Arteta], because I think from Declan being a holding midfielder, he went a little bit more as the eight.
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“I think he saw the physical side of him doing the box-to-box and to be the player who can get to the box, in with the second line, and then can score goals.
“I think the change of position is quite important, so credit to Mikel for that. And then, of course, he is the player that I love watching. I love his spirit. I love his competitiveness. I like the fact that he’s always going forward and he is a winner.
“I think this position, No 8, suits him much better, because previously you can say ‘OK, he may play with the handbrake’. But playing as a No 8 and having this will to go to the box and score goals. I think this is something that suits his style of play.”
When asked about the chances of Arsenal coming back and beating PSG on Wednesday, Vieira said: “Honestly, I strongly believe that they can come back. And I’m 100 per cent sure that the group of players and the manager know that they can come back, there’s no doubt about it.
“They will have to play the perfect game away from home. They did it before and they have a quality of players who can do it. They still have a good chance. They are still alive.”