Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta says his side are ready to deal with the pressure of holding back Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Gunners take a 3-0 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu but will exercise caution due to Madrid’s nature of mounting comebacks in the competition.
In years past, Los Blancos have completed seemingly impossible turnarounds in the Champions League, defeating the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain along the way.
As a result, they remain an incredibly dangerous opponent for Arteta’s side heading into the quarter-final second leg.
Speaking ahead of the game, the Arsenal boss said: “You try to be focused on what you can control.
“You can’t control the outside and the noise and all that. You have to believe in yourself, that’s the most important thing.
“For sure, when you have to create a story when you have to build a story, you have to be really convinced about what you want to achieve.
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“I think it is exciting, the history yes, we have never won the competition. We are trying to do something now where we can dominate the European competition.
“This team is ready and we’ve proven that in different contexts with different rivals. The team is convinced and the team is confident that we can do that.
“I’m ready to play, I’m ready to be there with my players. Something we’ve tried to do with our players. We want to be better than them and be in the semi-final.”
Should Arsenal emerge victorious against Madrid, they will face either Aston Villa or Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
It would mark a significant success for the Gunners, who have once again fallen short in their Premier League title push.
