Elie Baup
Elie Baup says Arsenal will be contenders for the Champions League trophy.

Marseille coach Elie Baup believes that Arsenal will be serious contenders for the Champions League trophy this season as the side look to navigate their way through the tournament's group of death.

The Gunners defeated Borussia Dortmund in Germany in their last match to take top spot along with Italian powerhouse Napoli.

And with Arsenal coming into their next match with Marseille as overwhelming favourites Baup told Sky Sports that he believes he could be coming up against the eventual champions.

"Arsenal are an extremely strong side in these competitions," Baup said. "They are the best side in our group and are going to qualify. When you get to the last 16 and the quarter-finals, the teams are all very close together. However, this season Arsenal have an undeniable attacking quality."

Marseille have been the undeniable victims in Group F this season and the side currently sit at the bottom of the table having lost all four matches.

Motivating the Ligue 1 outfit will be particularly difficult for Baup but he insists that with nothing to lose the side will come out all guns blazing against Arsene Wenger's men.

"Our squad is made up of young players who have a desire to improve and the experience of the Champions League will give them motivation, but also they have to realise how much work we still have to do," he explained.

"They all want to be back here and that is what we need to focus on," Baup continued. "As soon as we had the draw, everyone put us as fourth in the group. But we have always tried to play our right game and play well against teams who were better than us from the start."