Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender, expressed his opinion that Arsenal will pose a significant challenge for any team in the upcoming stages of the Champions League.
During his appearance on TNT Sports following Arsenal’s triumph over Porto, Ferdinand shared his insights.
Although Mikel Arteta’s squad suffered a 1-0 defeat in Portugal, they managed to level the tie with a goal from Leandro Trossard.
Despite their efforts, Arsenal couldn’t score additional goals and the outcome was determined by a penalty shootout.
David Raya made two crucial saves from the spot, while Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice successfully converted their penalties, allowing Arsenal to reach the competition’s quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years.
They will be among the prominent teams such as Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich in the next round.
According to Ferdinand in his conversation with TNT Sport, he stated, “They are genuinely tough opponents for any team remaining in the tournament. Regardless of the opponent, I believe that playing against Arsenal will be a challenging task over two legs, even for a powerhouse like Manchester City, as Arsenal possesses the capacity to compete against most of the remaining teams in this competition. I think they are capable of giving any team a run for their money at this point.”