Arsenal, Madrid clash in Champions League quarter-final showdown
The perennial Champions League winners meet the perpetual European also-rans in today’s colossal continental tie, as Arsenal welcome Real Madrid to the Emirates for the first leg of their quarter-final.
The Gunners put nine past PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 to storm into the final eight for the second year running, while the holders needed the lottery of penalties to edge out fierce rivals Atletico Madrid.
Barely a fortnight after the Arsenal Women’s team pulled off a captivating comeback against Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, it is now the men’s turn to emulate their female counterparts’ terrific 3-0 Emirates triumph, in what is undoubtedly Mikel Arteta’s biggest game as manager so far.
The former Barcelona youth product ended Arsenal’s agonising Champions League quarter-final exile last year and steered his side to the last eight once again this time around, thanks to an astounding 7-1 annihilation of PSV in the first leg of their last-16 battle before a stress-free 2-2 home draw.
Arsenal defied their attacking absences in their first-leg slaughter of the Dutch side, but after scoring seven in just 90 minutes at the Philips Stadion, they have now only managed an identical number in their last five games, further hampering their already wafer-thin hopes of Premier League glory.
Indeed, the North London giants have avoided defeat in each of their last 10 Champions League games at the Emirates securing eight clean sheets in that time and Real Madrid’s preparations for their first-ever competitive game at the stadium have been anything but ideal.
For as long as the stoic Carlo Ancelotti mans the Real Madrid touchline, Los Blancos will ostensibly always find a way in the Champions League, and so it proved in the second leg of their closely-contested last-16 showdown with city rivals Atletico Madrid.
Rocked in the first minute by a Conor Gallagher opener, the 15-time European Cup winners relied on their 12-yard prowess to make the quarter-finals for the fifth year running, and Gooners could be forgiven for glossing over their opponents’ record at this point.
Not since the 2003-04 season have Real Madrid been knocked out in the quarter-final stage winning each of their last 12 two-legged ties at this juncture but Ancelotti’s men have been humbled ever so slightly in their last two domestic outings.
After shipping four to Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final but still advancing to an El Clasico final with a 5-4 aggregate win Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 La Liga defeat to Valencia over the weekend, as Hugo Duro headed home an extraordinary 95th-minute winner at the Bernabeu.
Of course, Arsenal are no strangers to Madrid masterclasses Thierry Henry’s sensational solo goal from their 1-0 win in 2006 will no doubt be played on repeat from now until kickoff and a 0-0 draw at Highbury in the return leg means that the Gunners have never lost to Real Madrid in a competitive game.
It is never too late for revenge in football, though, and if Real Madrid can make Arsenal the 112th different team they have beaten in the Champions League on today, another trophy-less season will await Arteta’s Arsenal barring a miraculous second-leg turnaround.
Arteta allayed fears over a new issue for makeshift striker Mikel Merino at Goodison Park; the Spaniard suffered a cut to his head but should be given the green light to line up in a Bukayo Saka-reinforced attack.
The Hale End hero has come through two substitute cameos unscathed since returning from a hamstring problem and is now expected to make his first start of 2025, returning to the first XI alongside the likes of Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Fears that Kylian Mbappe, Ceballos, Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Junior would miss the first leg due to suspension did not come to fruition, as they escaped with fines after a UEFA investigation into their celebrations against Atletico.—SportsMole
