Arteta urges Arsenal to silence Real Madrid comeback noise
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to shut out noise of potential Real Madrid comeback in Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal.
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Arsenal needs to silence Real Madrid comeback noise
Arsenal heads to the Bernabeu with a 3-0 first-leg advantage, chasing their first Champions League semifinal since 2009.
Madrid, the reigning Champions League titleholders, has staged numerous dramatic comebacks in the competition.
Los Blancos defied the odds to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City on their way to the 2022 final.
Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham said on Tuesday the situation is “a night made for Real Madrid.”
“We have tried to repeat the opposite message. So in the brains of the players, what they have here in the last 72 hours is something completely different,” Arteta said.
“We are very close to them and hopefully that’s more powerful than anything else. But again, you have to be out there, you have to experience it, you have to feel it and you have to go through it. That’s what we have to do tomorrow. I understand that it’s the narrative that is going to give the fuel to them [Madrid].”
Arsenal’s resilience
Arsenal hasn’t lost by a three-goal margin in nearly two years.
Only four teams in Champions League history have ever overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit out of 47 attempts.
Arteta challenged his resilient squad to “talk on the pitch” and get the job done.
“We have to prove it now in this context and that’s the beauty of it. That’s the challenge and that’s the great thing about sports,” he said.
“That we’ve shown that we are capable of doing it, that has to give us reassurance and confidence that we can do it. And now, let’s talk on the pitch and do it on the pitch. It’s the only thing that matters.”
“There are three main aspects in the game. There’s the physical aspect, the technical and tactical aspect and the emotional aspect. That emotional aspect is very significant because I have a lot of reassurance for what the team has done all season, in a positive context and in a very difficult context, which I think is probably the pathway and why those things happen.”
So, [we need] to prepare to a semifinal like this and to be convinced that we can handle any situation and we’re going to enjoy actually playing any kind of game that we have to be thrown tomorrow.”
