Arteta says Real Madrid have ‘earned’ Champions League aura | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has said Real Madrid have earned their Champions League ‘aura’ ahead of Arsenal’s quarter-final clash with the holders.

Arsenal host Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-eight tie tomorrow evening, aiming for a positive result ahead of the return in Spain. The North Londoners are aiming to reach the semi-finals for just the third time, against a side that have dominated this competition.

Real Madrid won a record-extending 15th title last season and have been crowned European champions six times in the last 11 seasons.

Arteta admitted there is an ‘aura’ around Los Blancos but said he is confident that Arsenal can compete with any side in the world.

“That’s the history and they have earned that because of the mindset that they have,” he said at his pre-match press conference,

“So you can’t ignore that, that’s a fact. I don’t want to talk about it because we all know about it, so let’s talk about what we have to build and what we have to do, and how we can feel inspired by these occasions and look at what we do.

“And the fact that they haven’t been successful all the time, because it’s impossible – so from 20 times, maybe you win five, that means that you haven’t won the rest of the 15, so it’s very difficult to do it. We’re in a position that we have competed against any team in the last two years that we have faced, so we can do it again.”

Arteta opened up on how his side will aim to combat a star-studded Real Madrid frontline. Kylian Mbappe has scored 33 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season and will be joined by the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham in attack.

“With the individual qualities that they have, especially when you put them in certain situations, you know the danger that you are facing. But that’s the stage, it doesn’t get much bigger than that.

“What they’ve been doing in this competition is they can create those moments, and when it comes to the biggest stage, individual performance of players can decide a game and are critical for your success and that’s something that we have to prevent.”

Read – Arteta says Real Madrid game his ‘biggest night in management’

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