A bullish Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are “ready to deliver” against Real Madrid tomorrow night.
The Gunners host the Spanish giants in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final looking to reach the last four for the first time in 16 years.
They couldn’t have picked a tougher opponent with Madrid the most successful club in the history of the Champions League/European Cup having won it 15 times, including last year when they saw off Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
19 years later. It's Real Madrid in N5 again. pic.twitter.com/xZSyyGyHpZ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 7, 2025
Arteta knows Madrid are synonymous with success in this competition but the Spaniard was in confident mood ahead of the Emirates clash with Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
He said: “It is a joy to prepare the game, just to look at the reaction of the people and how we feel about ourselves coming into a game of this magnitude. This is the stage where we want to be, where Arsenal have to be consistently. We are very proud to be there and now we are very ready tomorrow to deliver.
“8pm tomorrow night, 11 players, 60,000 people, really super convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That’s the mindset that I want.
“The rest,…[just] be the team that we have been the last quarter of the season, with all the ups and downs and things that we have had to deal with, continue to do that because that’s our super strength.”
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Arteta desperate to beat Real Madrid and edge closer to silverware
For all the good work he has done at Arsenal since taking over in 2019, Arteta has led them to just one trophy – the FA Cup in 2020 – and he is desperate to change that record.
He added: “That’s why I came into football, that’s why I came into management and especially to this football club. It has been 20 years since we had this type of game and for us it’s a great opportunity to build our own story and this is what we are here for.
“We are going to put all the ingredients, everything that is in our hands to play the game we want and to take the game in the direction that we want in order to achieve that. We are also going to need our people playing every single ball with us and that’s going to make a huge difference because that’s something that is really needed.
“At this stage you need your home stadium to create a very special atmosphere to create momentum so I encourage everyone to go there tomorrow to play the game with us, not to be there watching it but to play the game with us.”
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Arteta has a plan to combat Real Madrid’s attacking threat
Arsenal suffered a major blow last week with key defender Gabriel ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury sustained against Fulham.
Arteta says he knows what he is going to do against Madrid in a bid to combat their formidable front four of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham, but refused to divulge his plans.
He started with Jakub Kiwior alongside William Saliba for the 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday but Ben White’s ability to play for an hour at Goodison Park means he has options.
It may be that White moves into the centre, in place of Kiwior, with Jurrien Timber starting at right-back.
“It looks like it [everyone is available that was involved at the weekend],” Arteta said. “We have another training session this afternoon. Ben finished the game [at Everton] and he was fine. The rest went through the game and they were able to do some bits yesterday ready to train today.”
Champions League nights under the lights 🌃 pic.twitter.com/JrU3Q9OIqn
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 6, 2025
Saka set to start for Arsenal
Bukayo Saka is likely to start after coming off the bench in the last two games following a lengthy lay-off.
“He is in a much better place,” Arteta said of the England winger. “Gradually we have built his minutes in the last six or seven days, he has coped with that really well and he is in a good place to be able to be used.”
