Martin Keown says he would prefer Arsenal to meet Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
Arsenal secured their place in Budapest on May 30 with a 1-0 win at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Mikel Arteta’s side must now wait to find out who they will meet as Bayern host Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday evening.
PSG currently have the advantage after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Bayern at the Parc des Princes last week as both sides
Arsenal were knocked out by PSG in the Champions League semi-final last season, while in the league phase this term, Arteta’s side sealed an impressive 3-1 win at home to Bayern in November.
When asked who he would rather Arsenal play in the Champions League final later this month, Keown told talkSPORT: ‘Do you know, I think I would like to see Bayern Munich, actually.
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‘They’ve already played each other, it was a 3-1 victory, and somehow I think Arsenal might have a better chance.
‘With PSG, they’re just remarkable in the way they play. The philosophies of both managers are exactly the same.
‘If we were playing in a game and we conceded four or five goals, our philosophy might change a little bit, we might not be so keen to keep attacking, but this lot just keep going. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever seen. We’re probably going to see the same again.
‘But I’d just like to see Arsenal… it would be ironic if Arsenal, with all the criticism they’ve taken for their style of football this season, and by the way they are playing some football now, they pretty well run the show for an hour last night, Atletico just sat in deep, couldn’t get the ball.’
Keown also dismissed suggestions that Arsenal’s players got carried away in their celebrations after the club reached their first Champions League final since 2006.
‘There’s nothing won yet, you’ve won a high-profile game, it’s been a magnificent evening, the best atmosphere the stadium has ever seen, it’s one more step towards success, it’s about rest, recovery and thinking about the weekend,’ Keown said.
‘No one is getting caught up – certainly not me. You know how cautious I have been all the way through the season. There will still be twists and turns in the Premier League, let me tell you.
‘I think if you’ve gone a whole season in the Champions League without losing a match, it’s almost two competitions, you play eight games in the league then it goes to a knockout, seven games if you reach the final, I think you can applaud that.
‘I think they needed that energy, this team needed to feel a little bit of celebration, but they boxed it off, I saw the players, already after the match it was very relaxed, no one’s going big time, that was for the fans, that was to thank the fans on the night, the atmosphere was incredible, they needed a payback, there’s a better bond now between the fans and the players. It’s another step but no one’s getting carried away at Arsenal, let me tell you.
‘This is the first season since Arteta has been there where I backed them to win it, and they still haven’t done that.
‘And with Pep [Guardiola] in the building, there’s lots of speculation, will he be here or won’t he? Is he not even responding to that to create this extra energy and this drive for his team? Bernardo Silva has been an amazing servant and he’s going as well so it creates that final hurdle.
‘I bristle at the bottling claim because I think it’s insulting. It certainly wasn’t around in my day. And if they go on and win the league and Champions League this year, in fact I will take one of those trophies, I don’t think that can be said about this group ever again.’
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