Arsenal have not made it past the UEFA Champions League semi-finals since 2009, but manager Mikel Arteta wants his side to write its own history when they host Real Madrid for the first leg of their quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Madrid, the record 15-time European champions, have won six UEFA Champions League titles since 2009 while Arsenal continue their hunt for a first crown.
Arteta, whose team last year bowed out of the competition after a quarter-final loss to German side Bayern Munich, urged his side to back themselves.
“It’s a club (Madrid) that has set new standards in world football. This is where we want to be, where we want to belong,” Arteta told reporters on Monday. “It’s part of their history. We have to write our own history. We have to focus on our thing. They can hurt us a lot but we can too.”
“With a lot of hope that we can get a result, that we can do it. We need to be convinced that we can do it. We need to just enjoy it. It will be just the first leg, the intention is clear for tomorrow. We’re going to go for it.”
Winger Bukayo Saka did not start in Arsenal’s 1-1 Premier League draw at 15th-placed Everton on Saturday, only coming on in the 46th minute.
The 23-year-old England international, who has scored 10 goals and provided 14 assists in 26 matches in all competitions for Arsenal this season, had only made his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury on Tuesday.
Arteta said Saka was in a much better place now.
“We have built his minutes and he’s coped with that really well,” the Spaniard added.
Tobi Sangotola
