{"id":46774,"date":"2026-05-05T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/carragher-names-arsenal-as-favorites-to-win-against-atletico-and-explains-the-reasons-behind-his-prediction\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:00:31","slug":"carragher-names-arsenal-as-favorites-to-win-against-atletico-and-explains-the-reasons-behind-his-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/carragher-names-arsenal-as-favorites-to-win-against-atletico-and-explains-the-reasons-behind-his-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"Carragher names Arsenal as favorites to win against Atletico and explains the reasons behind his prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/carragher-names-arsenal-as-favorites-to-win-against-atletico-and-explains-the-reasons-behind-his-prediction\/#Carragher_supports_Arsenal_as_they_advance_to_UCL_final\" >Carragher supports Arsenal as they advance to UCL final<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/carragher-names-arsenal-as-favorites-to-win-against-atletico-and-explains-the-reasons-behind-his-prediction\/#The_Gunners_have_evolved_under_Artetas_leadership\" >The Gunners have evolved under Arteta&#8217;s leadership.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tensions are running high in north London as Arsenal prepare to host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of a huge Champions League semi-final clash at the Emirates.<br \/><\/strong><br \/>The stakes couldn&#8217;t have been higher after last week&#8217;s encounter in the Spanish capital, which ended in an impressive 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n<div aria-setsize=\"-1\" id=\"message-list_1773822614.804109\" style=\"clear:left;\">\n<div>\n<div aria-roledescription=\"message\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While many fans and pundits nervously bit their nails and sat tight on the fence, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher confidently backed Arsenal to defeat the Spanish giants and reach their first Champions League final since 2006.<\/p>\n<p>He boldly predicts Mikel Arteta&#8217;s side will book their ticket to the grand finale.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, the narrative surrounding Arsenal in Europe has been incredibly consistent: they were beautiful on the ball, but vulnerable when the going got tough.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Carragher_supports_Arsenal_as_they_advance_to_UCL_final\"><\/span>Carragher supports Arsenal as they advance to UCL final<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Carragher says that soft underbelly has completely disappeared under Arteta.<\/p>\n<p>The big change that pundits are raving about is Arsenal&#8217;s newfound ruthless pragmatism.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Carragher said on Gary Neville&#8217;s podcast: <em>\u201cI think Arsenal can get through it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I think they are a better team than Atletico Madrid. To be honest, I don&#8217;t think Atletico are that good.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThere were 20 minutes in the first leg where Atletico had the upper hand, but both Arsenal teams were in control of the game.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI think the big thing Arsenal have done in the last few games is put Declan Rice a little bit deeper and I think that has had a big impact.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHe played well against Atl\u00e9tico, showed real authority and I thought he was excellent against Fulham at the weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always been worried about that midfield and I&#8217;ve been stressing about it lately, but there&#8217;s been a bit of a change there so that&#8217;s helped.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Gunners_have_evolved_under_Artetas_leadership\"><\/span>The Gunners have evolved under Arteta&#8217;s leadership.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the past, naive Arsenal might have gone completely crazy during last week&#8217;s chaotic 1-1 draw at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, they matched Atl\u00e9tico&#8217;s strong physical hitting.<\/p>\n<p>Carragher insists Arsenal have finally learned how to suffer without collapsing, so they could survive.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, the Gunners have home advantage in the second leg and will be hoping that support from their fans will act as a catalyst to get them through this difficult fixture.<\/p>\n<p>With Carragher recently pointing out the change in Rice&#8217;s position, Arteta will be hoping for the midfielder to put in his best performance of the season in the club&#8217;s first big match in a while.<\/p>\n<p>The Champions League final in Budapest is the goal of Arteta and his players and they have a huge chance to make history, or at least continue the process of making history.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Neville praises Arsenal&#8217;s &#8216;top class&#8217; players who were in great form against Fulham<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tensions are running high in north London as Arsenal prepare to host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of a huge Champions League semi-final clash at the Emirates.The stakes couldn&#8217;t have been higher after last week&#8217;s encounter in the Spanish capital, which ended in an impressive 1-1 draw. Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-46774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}