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Football

24th Feb 2015

Irish football fans are supporting Arsenal in the Champions League

But Brits are behind Chelsea

Gareth Makim

We’re big fans of the Gunners, it seems

Arsenal is the team most Irish fans would like to see win the Champions League, a new survey has revealed.

The Gunners are in action tomorrow night against Monaco, and Arsene Wenger would no doubt be heartened to know the nation of former Highbury greats Liam Brady and David O’Leary is behind them, especially given the fact London rivals Chelsea have taken top spot in British supporters’ affections.

The absence of clearly the two best supported sides in Ireland and Britain, Manchester United and Liverpool, will have knocked out a lot of fans, leaving Arsenal as the third best supported here.

The survey, by Swedish football app Forza Football, also shows how little the rest of Europe thinks of England’s remaining Champions League representatives, with Manchester City failing to receive backing anywhere.

The most popular team, perhaps surprisingly, is Juventus. The Grand Old Lady is top of the pops in 22 of the 45 countries polled, with huge support among Eastern European nations.

Barcelona come next with ten, including beating out current European champions Real Madrid in home country Spain.

Real (4), Bayern (2) and PSG (2) are the only sides to claim support from outside their own country, with Sweden unsurprisingly backing the French club and their hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

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[h/t Wall Street Journal]

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