Arsenal will not win UCL — Club legend explains why, despite Napoli victory

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

“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."