Diego Simeone on Arsenal semi-final – ‘There’s no pressure, there’s responsibility’ | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has told the media that his side are not feeling the pressure ahead of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal on Wednesday night. They do however have ‘responsibility’ in the tie though.

Simeone was upbeat ahead of their first Champions League semi-final in nine years, as they look to return to the final of the competition for the first time in a decade.

“I feel pure gratitude. I’m with my two sons, my three daughters, my mother, my wife, my friends. All that’s left is to give thanks,” he told the press on Tuesday, as he celebrated his 56th birthday.

Simeone was highly positive about the achievements already reached by his side this summer.

“They’ve reached another semifinal. For Atletico, this is incredible. It’s extraordinary to do it for the fourth time in 14 years. It’s incredible. That faith, that enthusiasm, that energy they inspire in us will do us a world of good. We’re facing a tough match. They’ve worked on a very well-executed set piece strategy. We’re going there with all our hopes.”

“Dreaming is good, but reality is what happens on pitch. Reality is what we do and what God wants. That’s how we behave.”

‘There’s no pressure, there’s responsibility’ – Simeone

Arsenal come into the match as favourites, and Simeone said that his side had a ‘special excitement‘ for the game, urging them to continue playing as they have been in the previous rounds.

“There’s no pressure, there’s responsibility, there’s a special excitement. We have to prepare to play. In the end, it’s a football match and the players decide it. We have to prepare well. We want to play the game we envision and take it to where we can hurt them.”

“What we’ve been doing in the knockout rounds, both in the Cup and the Champions League, is playing with intensity, with our style of play, with our attacking initiative. That’s how we’ll approach it.”

Simeone: ‘It’s normal that Alvarez is wanted by top clubs’

“With everything I have to worry about with Arsenal, I don’t have room for anything else,” he responded when asked if there was something in particular that was concerning him. Los Colchoneros have reportedly been practicing defending Arsenal’s set-piece threat. He followed Marcos Llorente in saying that he did not feel that his side were ‘owed’ a Champions League by the football Gods.

“We’re all human. If you ask us, everyone has a different opinion. We don’t owe anything to anyone. Things are earned and achieved. You have to work, pursue them, and hope Lady Luck is on your side.”

Meanwhile Julian Alvarez was again forced to respond to speculation on his future on Monday.

“I’m not in his head. It’s normal that a player like Julian is wanted by Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona. It’s normal. He’s very good.”

The first leg at the Metropolitano kicks off at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday, with the return leg taking place at the same time the following week on Tuesday at the Emirates.