Arsenal Send Message to Real Madrid Ahead of Their Champions League Clash
- Arsenal appeared to rubbish Real Madrid's comeback talk with a bold message ahead of their Champions League showdown
- The Gunners have a 3-0 advantage from the first leg, but the threat of a historic comeback from the defending champions is real
- Mikel Arteta's side have not reached the semi-final since 2009, but are favourites to advance to the last four
Arsenal have sent a strong message to Real Madrid ahead of their massive Champions League encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Source: Getty Images
What is Arsenal's message to Real Madrid?
Arsenal dropped a video of their trip to Madrid, Spain, and their players and coaches inside the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Arsenal X account captioned the video with "Here to create our own history."
Much of the pre-match talking points have been dominated by Real Madrid's potential comeback (remontada). The Gunners have a 3-0 lead and will have to suffer a monumental collapse to lose the tie.
They haven't reached the semi-final since 2009 but have one foot in the last four.
“We have the momentum, I think. The way we play, the way we faced the first leg is incredible for everyone, and we're here just to play our history, to win the game, to come here and win the game, and that's the most important thing," Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya said ahead of the game.
“We are here just to write our own history. I think we win the game and go to the semi-finals, that's what we want to do, that's what we're going to try and achieve.”
How Arsenal got here
The Gunners are in the Champions League quarter-final for the second season running. In the 2024/25 campaign, they lost to Bayern Munich.
This season, they had an impressive run in the league phase. In eight matches, they won six, drew one and lost one, to Inter Milan.
They conceded three goals, which was the second-best record behind Inter Milan. In the round of 16, they crushed PSV Eindhoven 9-3 on aggregate.
Source: Getty Images
Against Real Madrid in the first leg, they produced a dominant performance, especially in the second half, to win 3-0. Declan Rice's two brilliant free-kicks inspired them to a historic win.
Despite falling behind in the Premier League, they have become favourites to win the competition.
"Last year, we had an experience and with that one, we want to be better this season, and apply that to reach the semi-finals, which will be only our third time in the history of our football club," Mikel Arteta said.
Arsenal have knocked Real Madrid out before; can they do it again?
Opta predicts Champions League winner
Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that Opta's supercomputer predicted the 2025 Champions League winner after Arsenal's first leg win over Real Madrid.
After their win, they were given a 28.4% chance to win the competition for the first time in their history.
Barcelona are their closest challengers with a 22.4% chance. The 2015 champions eliminated Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals. Inter Milan have a 21.1% chance.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
