Steve McManaman has snubbed last season's finalists Arsenal and named his two favourites to win the Champions League this season. The former player believes defending champions PSG and Spanish side Barcelona are both likelier winners of the competition.
Arsenal's perfect start continues
Arsenal continued their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 win over Serie A side Napoli on Wednesday. Martin Odegaard, who scored against Chelsea at the weekend, netted the winner in Naples in the 75th minute.
The Gunners enjoyed a memorable run to the final last season before suffering a penalty shootout defeat to PSG. After another summer of recruitment, Mikel Arteta's side will expect to reach the latter stages again.
McManaman's verdict
Speaking on TNT Sports, McManaman said: 'PSG are favourites of course because they've won it the last two years.'
'I think Barcelona are very strong, they've been excellent in La Liga. They look as if they're going to score every time they go forward and they've got six forwards at the moment, which helps them. They're up there certainly, they've improved from last year so they'll be close.'
PSG began their defence with a 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava, while Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5-1. Liverpool secured a 2-1 comeback victory over Atletico Madrid, their first European win under Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool's prospects
Bradley Barcola made his first start since his move from PSG, but McManaman does not believe his arrival will automatically make Liverpool contenders. He added: 'I think he makes them better, he's shown what he can do in a PSG shirt and won the Champions League a couple of times, so we know he's got experience. I think he can make Liverpool's starting XI better but whether that makes them anywhere close to favourites I would probably doubt.'
'I think it's a transitional year for Liverpool, and I think there will be a few ups and downs a bit like last year. I hope they improve on where they finished last year, but I don't expect them to be challenging on all fronts.'
