All the English clubs will be fine in the Champions League, writes Jimmy Bullard

EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: Arsenal have been given a tough draw again, especially with Bayern in the mix but I think they’ll also get through

Jimmy Bullard
Tuesday 15 September 2015 16:10 BST
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Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil (Getty Images)

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In his column for The Independent, Jimmy Bullard looks ahead to the Champions League, which starts tonight.

I think all of the English sides will be fine. City have a tasty group with the likes of Juventus and Sevilla and Mourinho going back to Porto will be a big night. The Porto lot will be so up for it that day, the stadium will be rocking and they’ll do everything they can to make sure Jose goes back to England an unhappy man. Having said that, I can’t see beyond Chelsea and I think they’ll win that group comfortably. United will be happy with their draw too – not too much travelling other than Moscow and the opposition aren’t as tricky as they potentially could’ve been.

Arsenal have been given a tough draw again, especially with Bayern Munich in the mix but I think they’ll also get through the group. Every year Wenger gets questioned about lack of signings to mount a serious Champions League challenge but they never have any problem getting out of the group and have just been unlucky with getting a big gun straight away in the knockouts. Some of the other groups look weaker than recent years, so even if they finish 2nd, there’s no guarantee they’ll be playing a top, top side straight away. Obviously you’ve got to play the best teams to win the competition, but it would be a lot different playing a Barcelona or Real Madrid in the semi-final when the pressure is really on for those sided. I fancy Arsenal to have a decent run this time around and if they can get themselves into the last eight, then anything can happen!

Jimmy Bullard
Jimmy Bullard (Carling)

Jimmy Bullard has teamed up with Carling as part of their Shirt Amnesty, giving fans the opportunity to exchange their shirt with the name of a recently sold player, with a new one. Follow all of the action @Carling on Twitter.

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