Ex-Manchester City and Arsenal attacking midfielder Samir Nasri has revealed which of his former clubs he would prefer to win the Champions League this season.
Both teams have reached the knockout stages of the competition. Pep Guardiola’s side won the first leg of their round of 16 tie against FC Copenhagen last week, securing a 3-1 victory in Denmark. However, the Gunners lost 1-0 against Porto on Wednesday night. Asked for his favourite by fellow Canal+ Foot pundit David Ginola (quotes via TBRFootball.com), Nasri simply said:
“City.”
Nasri spent six years at the Etihad, where he won four trophies, including 2 Premier League titles, so it is not a complete surprise that he opted for City.
Although he did have a four-year spell with Arsenal, fans weren’t particularly pleased when he left for Manchester but the success he enjoyed with the Cityzens more than justified the transfer.
Who are favourites to win the Champions League this campaign?
Pep Guardiola’s side are currently favoured to retain the trophy that they won in Istanbul last June, while 14-time champions Real Madrid are second favourites.
Despite their first-leg defeat in Portugal, Arsenal remain third in the running, while Bayern Munich and last season’s finalists Inter Milan make up the rest of the top 5.
City’s chances of making it further in the competition have been boosted
Guardiola has confirmed that midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has not suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury which kept him sidelined for the first half of the season.
There were concerns when the Belgian international was left out of the starting eleven for the win over Brentford midweek but Guardiola says there is a good chance that he will feature against Bournemouth this weekend.
If City are to reach the Champions League final for the second season in a row, they will need De Bruyne to be fit and firing.