"Of course" - Arsenal star confident of reaching Champions League final | OneFootball

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli insists he is confident that the club will reach the Champions League final after last night’s 1-1 draw away to Atletico Madrid.

The Brazil international started in Madrid as the Gunners claimed an important result away from home in the first leg of this semi-final tie.

Arsenal take on Fulham in the Premier League at the weekend and then host Atletico at the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of this semi-final next week.

If Arsenal go through, it will be only their second ever appearance in a Champions League final, but Martinelli sounds optimistic about the team’s chances after getting through what should, at least on paper, be the tougher part of the tie.

Gabriel Martinelli speaks after Arsenal’s draw at Atletico Madrid

Speaking in the mixed zone after the game, Martinelli seemed in a positive mood about the return fixture, particularly if Mikel Arteta is able to welcome back a fully fit Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka, both of whom could only start on the bench in Madrid.

“We have so many good players, the depth in this squad is really good,” Martinelli told reports. “I think if everybody is ready it’s a big boost for us, so let’s hope everyone is ok.”

He added: “We wanted to come here and win the game. But in the end it’s a battle against a really good team at their place. We take the draw. We’re going to re-watch the game and see the things that we did wrong and try to improve for the next one.”

When asked if he’s confident Arsenal will make it into the final, Martinelli responded: “Yeah of course. We play for Arsenal, we know how big the club is and we trust in ourselves.”

Who will win the Champions League?

Both Arsenal and Atletico are the two teams in these semi-finals who are looking to win the Champions League for the first time.

See below for the record of the final four, with Bayern Munich by far the most successful of the remaining sides historically, having won the competition six times, whilst reaching 11 finals in total.

Arsenal have only reached the final once, losing 2-1 to Barcelona back in 2006, so it could be that they’ll finally get the chance to make up for that heartbreak 20 years later.

Meanwhile, current holders PSG lead Bayern 5-4 on aggregate from the first leg of their semi-final.