Where Arsenal 'might be better' than Liverpool and why they could go further in UEFA Champions League this season
Updated 11/09/2025 at 09:53 GMT+1
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Liverpool and Arsenal will be among the leading contenders to win this season's UEFA Champions League, which starts on September 16, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. TNT Sports experts Ally McCoist, Joe Cole and Julien Laurens have been giving their verdicts on the chances of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea as they aim for European success this campaign.
'They can go really far' - Laurens on Arsenal's Champions League chances
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ally McCoist and Julien Laurens both believe that Arsenal have a better chance of success in this season’s UEFA Champions League than Liverpool.
Liverpool won the Premier League title last season and beat Arsenal 1-0 before the international break.
Arne Slot's side were also the biggest spenders in the summer transfer window, splashing almost £450 million to bring in Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and others.
Arsenal spent heavily, too, signing Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and more - and TNT Sports expert McCoist thinks The Gunners have an edge over Liverpool when it comes to Europe.
Speaking on The Breakdown, McCoist said: "Liverpool were fantastic last year and deserved league winners, but I just think Arsenal defensively might be better.
"The one thing Arsenal do better than most is defend and that is why I think they might be a better option [to win the Champions League].
"And there is nobody who complained more about Arsenal not having a centre-forward than me, and they have one now."
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Both Liverpool and Arsenal were beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last season - Arsenal in the semi-finals and Liverpool in the round of 16.
The league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League starts on Tuesday, September 16, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Premier League teams' opening UEFA Champions League fixtures
| Athletic Club v Arsenal (Tuesday, September 16) |
| Tottenham Hotspur v Villarreal (Tuesday, September 16) |
| Bayern Munich v Chelsea (Wednesday, September 17) |
| Liverpool v Atletico Madrid (Wednesday, September 17) |
| Manchester City v Napoli (Thursday, September 18) |
| Newcastle United v Barcelona (Thursday, September 18) |
The Gunners had one of the best defensive records in last season's Champions League and narrowly lost out 3-1 on aggregate to PSG in the semis.
"They pushed PSG for the first 20 minutes in the second leg like I have rarely seen a team playing at the Parc des Princes," said TNT Sports expert Laurens.
"I think defensively they are the most solid, they have even more control with Zubimendi in there, and if Gyokeres starts scoring and they don’t have injuries to key players I think they can go really far.
"To me they are the most ‘cup team’ of all the English teams and that is why I think they will go the furthest."
Manchester City are the most recent Premier League winners of the Champions League having triumphed in 2023.
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But McCoist thinks there is "concern" about Pep Guardiola’s side after a below-par 2024/25 campaign and two defeats in three games this season.
"I still have question marks defensively and I think they have lost their fear factor," he added.
"I am not ruling them out but they don’t have the fear factor. Rodri is key for them and it will take him a little while to get going again.
"I have not seen enough from Manchester City and of course they could gel as the season goes on but at this stage I would be concerned about City."
Chelsea are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2022/23. Like many of their rivals, they spent plenty over the summer, but former winger Joe Cole highlighted an area they didn’t strengthen as a potential concern.
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"For Chelsea it all depends on the performance of the goalkeeper [Robert Sanchez]," Cole said.
"If you had asked Chelsea fans in the summer where do we need to improve they would have said goalkeeper.
"Levi [Colwill] at the back end of last season was brilliant. Centre halves mature later and he looked like he had this surge and it clicked with him.
"But now he is out and [Wesley] Fofana has had injuries, so they do need to improve in that area, but the goalkeeper…"
Watch The Breakdown in full
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Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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