With the recent torn out of events in the UEFA Champions League that led to Big shots Juventus and Manchester City getting knocked out of the race, Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger has insisted that a very different kind of game is waiting for the Gunners at the San Paolo tonight.
Arsenal are going into the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Napoli on the back of a 2-0 win at home in the first leg at the Emirates.
The Gunners are clear favourites to reach the semi-final, but Manninger insisted that the tie is far from over and the win at home was not the decisive result for Arsenal.
The former goalkeeper believes Napoli are still in with a shot of overturning the first leg deficit and moving forward in the Europa League at Arsenal’s expense.
The former Gunner told Italian outlet Tutto Mercato: “I believe this quarter-final tie of the Europa League is yet to be decided.
“The result in London was not decisive, Napoli still have a 50 per cent chance of getting through.
“And there are still 90 minutes of high-intensity football left.”
Manninger feels the atmosphere at the San Paolo could play a huge role as the Italian fans will show vocal support for the home side in Naples.
The former Gunner warned Arsenal that it will be a completely different game in Italy compared to the first leg at the Emirates when they won comfortably.
“Yes, the atmosphere at San Paolo is exciting.
“The Italian fans will certainly try to drag [Carlo] Ancelotti’s team towards the semi-finals.
“Arsenal must be careful as a different game compared to the Emirates is waiting for them.
“I would not be surprised if Napoli manage to recover.”