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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Roy Keane claims Champions League final has Arsenal vs Barcelona 'written all over it'

Champions League final prediction: Roy Keane - (Stick to Football podcast)

This season’s Champions League final has Arsenal vs Barcelona “written all over it”, according to Roy Keane.

Arsenal triumphed against holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semi-final in 16 years, whilst Barcelona overcame last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund.

The Gunners will now face Paris Saint-Germain, the first leg taking place at the Emirates Stadium next Tuesday. And on the other side of the bracket, the Spanish giants have a showdown with Inter Milan.

PSG have already knocked out two Premier League sides in Liverpool and Aston Villa, so perhaps they are the slight favourites to stop Arsenal in their tracks as they bid to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time.

But Keane believes a repeat of the 2006 final in Paris is on the cards

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, the Manchester United legend said: “Arsenal v Barcelona final, it’s got it written all over it.

"How crazy were Real? Just booting everybody, weren’t they?

"They were just diving in, dragging people down, getting no momentum. That was stopping them from getting momentum!"

Champions League discussion (Stick to Football podcast)

Gunners legend Ian Wright sees no reason why Mikel Arteta’s side can’t go all the way in the Champions League, but has warned this is a different PSG side they faced earlier in the season.

He added: "We're talking about the quarter-finals, Real Madrid, a team that is built simply to win this competition and we beat them.

"Why shouldn’t we be happy about that? 5-1, two legs, you can’t play that down. You have to think they can win it.

"I know that PSG haven’t beaten them before but that’s a different PSG.

"And I think Arsenal are different from the time they played that time."

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