Former England international Paul Merson believes Arsenal will fail to win the UEFA Champions League this season due to a lack of world-class quality in their frontline.

The Premier League champions opened their 2026/27 European campaign on Wednesday, September 9, securing a 1-0 away victory over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Captain Martin Ødegaard scored a 75th-minute winner in Naples to secure all three points for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Despite the positive start, Arsenal entered the campaign aiming to secure the only major trophy that has continuously eluded the club.

The Gunners reached the 2026 Champions League final on May 30, holding Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw in Budapest before suffering a 4-3 defeat in the penalty shootout.

Merson argues that Arsenal’s current forward options remain insufficient to overcome Europe’s elite clubs in the latter stages of the competition.
“Arsenal’s record last year was amazing in the Champions League up to the final,” Merson stated. “They’re going to be there or thereabouts, I just don’t think they bought that X factor to take them to that level.

“I think they’ve got enough to win them the Premier League with their squad, I just think their forward line against the big boys.”

He added: “I just think they’re missing that little ingredient. If they’d got a Vinicius Junior or a Julian Alvarez then I think that would have given them the edge to go on and win the Champions League, and I think they might just fall short. But they will be there or thereabouts, there’s no doubt about that.”

Merson’s assessment follows a summer transfer window where Arsenal failed to land several primary attacking targets.

The London club tested Atletico Madrid with a €100 million swap proposal for Julián Álvarez, but the Argentina international refused to leave Spain.

Arsenal also explored ambitious moves for Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior and Aston Villa winger Morgan Rogers, ultimately failing to conclude deals for either player.

Arsenal instead added Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, and young winger Christos Tzolis from Sporting CP to their ranks.

Merson believes the Champions League has become the clear priority for the club and its supporters following their domestic league success.

“Now they’ve won the Premier League after a long, long time; I think it would probably be the Champions League,” Merson added.

“I don’t want to talk on behalf of everybody else, but there’s a song that goes around that says, ‘We’ve won it all, we’ve won it all’, and Arsenal haven’t been able to sing that. I would imagine Arsenal fans would like to win that to be able to sing that song at away grounds.”

Prior to it’s Champions League opening encounter with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday , Liverpool have updated their squad for the competition, with four youngsters of Nigerian descent added to the roster..

Defender Welility Lucky, Midfielder Fola Onanuga, winger Rio Ngumoha and forward Josh Sonni-Lambie have been registered on Liverpool’s List B for the Champions League.

A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 2005 and, has since had his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.

Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

While Onanuga, Lucky and Sonni-Lambie arrived at Liverpool at U11, U13 and U14 level respectively, Ngumoha has been on the books of the Reds since September 2024, following his move from Chelsea.

Of the aforementioned players of Nigerian descent, only Ngumoha was expected to be named in the matchday squad to face Atlético Madrid, having been spotted training with the first team at the AXA Training Centre on the eve of the match.

Lucky will wear No. 92 in the Champions League, with Onanuga, Ngumoha and Sonni-Lambie handed No. 99, 73 and 82 respectively.

Thibaut Courtois has made an important decision with the final stage of his career in mind.The Real Madrid goalkeeper will not take part in the upcoming UEFA Nations League with Belgium, although he made it very clear that this does not mean he is retiring from international soccer.

According to Report, the 34-year-old goalkeeper reached this decision after speaking with Belgium’s new head coach, Mark van Bommel. Courtois’ intention is to reduce his workload over the coming months and remain at his physical best.

Van Bommel understood the goalkeeper’s position and accepted his decision. However, there is also one important condition: when Courtois decides to return, he will have to compete for the starting job again.

According to Reuters, Courtois will not participate in the upcoming Nations League campaign, in which Belgium will face Italy, Turkey and France.

There is only one exception. If Van Bommel faces an emergency caused by multiple injuries among his goalkeepers, the Real Madrid star would be willing to make an extraordinary return.

Courtois also made it clear that this break does not represent a farewell to the Red Devils. His intention is to make himself available again when qualifying for Euro 2028 begins.

After more than a decade protecting his country’s goal, the objective now is to find a balance between his commitments with Real Madrid and an international career he does not yet consider finished.

From his first press conference as Belgium head coach, held on August 7, Van Bommel made it clear that he wanted to speak personally with Courtois before making any decision about his international future.

The coach explained at the time that he planned to travel to Madrid alongside sporting director Vincent Mannaert to hear directly from the goalkeeper about his plans.

Van Bommel had already held brief contact with Courtois via video call, but he wanted a face-to-face conversation before determining the next step.

The new head coach’s message was important: he would not travel to Madrid with a decision already made.

He also publicly defended the quality of the Real Madrid star, whom he considers one of the great goalkeepers of his generation.

That position left the door open to finding a solution that worked for both sides.

One month later, the situation is much clearer: Courtois will take a break during the Nations League, while Van Bommel is keeping the door open for his return during the next competitive cycle.

But having the door open does not mean having the position reserved.