Real Madrid under the lights in the Champions League quarter-finals. It’s no surprise Mikel Arteta sees it as an opportunity to create another magical memory.
It’s been almost 20 years since our last 16 triumph over the Galacticos courtesy of Thierry Henry and, despite Madrid’s dominance in the competition since then, Arteta’s team have shown they’re capable of beating anyone.
Asked if Tuesday’s visit of the Spanish giants is one of the biggest matches of his coaching career, our manager said: “It is one of the most special things.
“It's a competition that we've been waiting for for many, many years, with the fact that we've only been twice at this stage in 15 years with the size of Arsenal and the difficulty of that.
“We're going to create our own story and go even further. Tomorrow is a beautiful opportunity for all of us.”
With the players and staff already full of belief, the relentless backing of 60,000 supporters is set to create an intoxicating atmosphere in north London.
Mikel pleaded in his rallying cry: “8pm tomorrow night, 11 players, 60,000 people need to be really super convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That's the mindset that I want.
“The rest, be the team that we've been over the last quarter of the season. With all the ups and downs and things that we have to deal with, continue to do that because that's our super strength.
“It's a joy to prepare the game, to look at them, just to look at the reaction of people and how we feel about ourselves coming into a game of that magnitude. The excitement around the club, the people, this is the stage that we want to be and where Arsenal has to be consistently.
“Play every single ball with us. Don’t be there to watch, but to play the game with us.”
“We are very proud to be there and now we're very ready tomorrow to deliver.
“We're going to put all the ingredients, everything that is in our hands to play the game that we want and to take the game in the direction that we want. In order to achieve that, we're going to need our people playing every single ball with us and that's going to make a huge difference because that's something that is really needed.
“At these stages, you need your home stadium to create a very, very special atmosphere to generate momentum. So, let's go. I encourage everybody to go there tomorrow to play the game with us. Not to be there watching it but to play the game with us.
"I encourage them to come very early to the warm-up, and create those nights that we haven't lived many of at Emirates Stadium, so that's an opportunity again. When we have built history, we have to build moments, and a moment is being built with our people.
"We have to create that energy, that belief, that enthusiasm to play every single action there, because the bonus, the confidence that that gives you, there is nothing else that we can replicate that I can tell the players constantly to maintain that throughout the 95 minutes that the game is going to be played."
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