At Arsenal, they have been calling that their biggest game for 20 years. It says a lot about the work that Mikel Arteta has done to bring Arsenal back to this level, but also something on the bottom that they lived towards the end of the years Arsene Wenger and beyond.
Now that they are here, what is happening against Real Madrid in the next nine days is important. Not only in terms of Arsenal’s progress in the Champions League, but in terms of where they are really at this stage of Arteta’s evolution.
Monday, a large part of the rhetoric was the size of the occasion and the pride and the atmosphere. Bukayo Saka – Back in the fold after the hamstrings’ surgery – said he hoped that arsenal fans “would create the most beautiful night that the Emirates have ever been witnesses.”
More, it must be on victory. It is an Arsenal team for more than five years in construction, but this process has blocked this season, so the perception of a slowdown in the trip must change.
Liverpool suddenly resembles an unconvincing presence at the top of the Premier League, but Arsenal – Nine points at last year – are not close enough to apply real pressure.
It is already like a cause of regret and if their trip to the Champions League ends at this stage, this feeling will only deepen.
Arsenal is preparing for what has been nicknamed their biggest match in 20 years on Tuesday
They will face holders of the title of the Real Madrid Champions League in two legs in the next nine days
If all this seems a little cold and clinical at the door of such a large night, then too bad. But this is how sport works at the highest level. It must be progress and move forward. When it stops, the questions fill the void.
Arteta is undoubtedly a good manager and coach, but he spoke on Monday on the Arsenal training field on luck and its effects.
Certainly, his team suffered injuries at a very bad time. But the prints at Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Everton and a home defeat by West Ham were more than misfortune.
They stressed that the uncertain form and dubious planning, which meant that Arsenal only took nine points from the last 18 available in the league.
This drop cost Arteta a realistic shot in the title and will form the backdrop of the analysis if Arsenal cannot overcome its status as outsider against the champions in title of Carlo Ancelotti, in London on Tuesday, then at Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid a week on Wednesday.
“We were far from qualifying for the Champions League when I joined,” said Arteta. “We could therefore forget to play in the quarterfinals two years in a row for the first time in 15 years.
“It’s merit for the club. They made a lot of good decisions and many people have been involved in the driving of this boat as fast as they could arrive at this stage. Now everyone is always very dissatisfied because we want much more.
“I love to compete with the best. I love being challenged against the best in a competition that has something very, very special and that we have no history to win. Thus, no one can be hungry and desire than us. It is impossible.
Mikel Arteta looks sufficiently relaxed in training when he arrives with Ben White (left) and Bukayo Saka (right), but the director of Arsenal says that it is the biggest match of the club in 20 years
Kylian Mbappe and Co were too strong for Man City in the last round and the European champions will expect to take another English scalp in the quarter -finals
The owner of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, had warm words to say about the counterpart Mikel Arteta
The quarter-final release last year in the hands of Bayern Munich included a 2-2 draw and a 1-0 defeat in Germany. What cost arsenal was clear. They had to win the first game and, for sure, they have to do it here tonight.
Madrid is not without vulnerability. They lost at home against AC Milan and Liverpool in the league phase, but has undoubtedly improved since then. They were far too good for Manchester City on the second floor of their play-off to reach the last 16 and will present an even more formidable barrier by reputation and experience.
The big Spanish club has 15 European cups in their name and although they are four points behind Barcelona at the Liga top after the home defeat on Saturday by Valence, Ancelotti presented to his Emirates press conference as a guy who could have half a matter of what he is doing.
“The experience and knowledge in this competition are really important,” said the 65 -year -old, who won the competition seven times as a player and manager.
“This means that you are not afraid to play this type of game that puts you in a lot of pressure. It is a really important competition. It’s face to face. The fact that we have a lot of players who have played many of these games gives players more confidence to young people.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this feeling and the arsenal begins with disadvantage in this regard.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois should come back to the purpose of Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois – The former goalkeeper of Chelsea de Madrid – recovered from a muscle injury and should begin. While he was rightly respectful of the threat that Arsenal brings sets, his manager may have a little too stiff while he was taking a look under this famous arched front at work that Artata made in northern London.
“He was a full team,” said Ancelotti. “There are not many complete teams in Europe. There are teams that do many things but not much that do just like Arsenal.
“Arsenal is one of the most important clubs in Europe and Mikel Arteta has done a fantastic job. From 2020, he succeeded very well. The team is stronger than in the past and will be even stronger in the future.
Arsenal has undoubtedly been transformed on the Arteta watch. On Monday, his team trained under the gaze of the new sports director of Club Andrea Berta. The future should continue to focus on growth.
But here and now is important too. Madrid will not consider this evening’s match as a celebration, simply another step on a well -trained road. Arsenal desperately needs a little of this attitude.