- Arsenal face Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final second leg
- The Gunners hold a 3-0 aggregate lead following a brilliant display last week
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Mikel Arteta has roared on his Arsenal side to be ‘bold and brave’ when they face-off against Real Madrid at the intimidating Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
The Gunners go into this Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie with a 3-0 advantage, spearheaded by Declan Rice’s two stunning free-kick goals at the Emirates last Tuesday in the first leg.
The north London club are seeking to revive their season by reaching the semi-finals of this competition for the first time since 2009, where they would face either Aston Villa or PSG who also play tonight.
‘We have to be bold and brave,’ said Arteta. ‘This is what I’m trying to convey to my players.’
On how Arsenal must approach the game, he said: ‘To win it. The same that we did in London, our preparation has been the things that we have to do, the things that we have to dominate throughout the game in different phases to give us the best possible chance to win the game.
‘That’s clear in our mindset.’
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to be ‘bold and brave’ against Real Madrid in the second leg
The Gunners hold a 3-0 lead in the Champions League quarter-final tie after the first leg
Arteta insisted the Gunners would go for the win at the Bernabeu despite their advantage
Though, Los Blancos, who are 15-times winners of this competition, are up for the fight. They have been given permission by UEFA to close the Bernabeu’s roof for Wednesday’s match in a bid to intimate their visitors with a cauldron atmosphere.
There has also been a fixation on a ‘remontada’ – Spanish for ‘comeback’ – since the humiliating defeat. Antonio Rudiger was seen shouting the phrase towards fans after their 1-0 La Liga victory over Alaves on Sunday, and it also featured heavily across the Spanish media in the past week.
Real Madrid have built a history around defying logic and Arteta is well aware of the both the challenge and recent narrative.
‘I understand that,’ said Arteta. ‘It’s part of their history and they have the right to be talking about these kinds of scenarios.
‘Ours is very different and our mindset, preparation, our thoughts and how we’re going to have the best chance to be better than them in the aspects that are crucial in the game because we’re going to try to take the game to places very different to our intentions.
‘If we do that, we’re going to have a good chance to win the game.’
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti called on his players to show ‘b***s’ in a bid to overcome the Gunners.
‘We’ll play a serious game, with our heads, hearts and balls,’ said Ancelotti.
Carlo Ancelotti called on his players to show ‘b***s’ in a bid to overcome the Gunners
Jude Bellingham insisted there is belief among Real’s players they can complete a comeback
‘The team is motivated and excited. I’m sure that, in terms of commitment and mentality, we’re doing very well.
‘The opening moments is going to be very important because we need to have a good control of the game.’
Jude Bellingham added: ‘For us, it (believing in a comeback) was pretty much immediate. By the time we were back in the coach, we were all not in good spirits obviously but realised that we could still be in the competition.
‘Honestly I’ve heard it (remontada) about a million times since last week, I’ve seen a million videos online, made by fans, made by you guys. Really motivating stuff.’
