‘We knew it was going to be a battle’ – Martinelli on draw with Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli remains confident that his team will reach the Champions League final for only the second time in the club’s history.

The Gunners drew 1-1 away from home in the first leg of their tie against Atletico Madrid. The result leaves Mikel Arteta’s side as favourites to advance to the final in the second leg at the Emirates next week.

“Yes, of course,” answered Martinelli on whether he was confident of reaching the final. “We play for Arsenal, we know how big the club is and we trust in ourselves.

“We knew when they went through it was going to be a big one, a battle over there. It was a really hard game, they’ve got a really good side.

“Of course, we wanted to come here and win the game. We take the draw, playing away from home. We have a big one next week in our place, so we go for it.

“Of course, we could have done things better. It’s the semi-final of the Champions League, of course the opponent is going to be really good as well.

“We take the draw, we go to London and we want to win the game to go to the final.”

Arsenal remain battling on two fronts this season. Aside from their European ambitions, the Gunners have their eyes firmly set on claiming a first Premier League title in more than 20 years.

They will host Fulham on Saturday, with the chance to extend their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table to six points, albeit after playing two matches more than their title rivals.

“We go to London now to recover,” said Martinelli. “We have a big one on Saturday as well. So we prepare for the game on Saturday and then we think again about Atletico.”