For the first time ever in a competitive setting, the Emirates Stadium will host 15-time European champions Real Madrid on Tuesday evening, when Arsenal welcome them to their North London home for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
The clash of colossal proportions came about thanks to the Gunners’ 9-3 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven and Real’s penalty-shootout success over Atletico Madrid in the last 16, as Los Blancos chase European title number 16 and Arsenal hunt for their maiden Champions League crown.
However, neither continental giant comes into the first leg with their wind in their sails, as Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Everton in the Premier League came just a few hours before Carlo Ancelotti‘s men were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Valencia in La Liga.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 2
Arsenal wins: 1
Draws: 1
Real Madrid wins: 0
In both competitive and non-competitive matches, Arsenal have not lost a single game to Real Madrid in 90 minutes. Yes, you read that right, Los Blancos have never beaten the Gunners in a senior men’s match – unless a friendly penalty shootout counts.
The maiden meeting between Arsenal and Real Madrid produced one of the Gunners’ greatest nights in their 139-year history, as they rocked up to the Bernabeu for the first leg of their 2005-06 Champions League last-16 tie and left with a sensational 1-0 win.
Two legendary strikers in Thierry Henry and Ronaldo were primed to share the Bernabeu spotlight, but it was the former who provided the moment of magic, embarking on one of his trademark scintillating solo runs and slotting the ball into the far corner.
A fortnight later, an Arsenal defence comprising Emmanuel Eboue, Philippe Senderos and Mathieu Flamini magnificently kept Ronaldo, Raul, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham at bay, as Arsene Wenger‘s men happily drew 0-0 to eliminate the perpetual European champions.
Owing to their pair of unbeaten games against Real Madrid in 2006, Arsenal can become just the second English team to avoid defeat in each of their first three Champions League matches with Los Blancos on Tuesday, joining Liverpool in that exclusive club.
However, the Gunners have technically gone four unbeaten if friendly games are also factored into the equation, as they eked out a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the 2008 Emirates Cup thanks to an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty.
Eleven years later, Arsenal and Real reunited in the United States for a 2019 pre-season friendly in the International Champions Cup, where the Gunners took a 2-0 lead thanks to Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio clawed Los Blancos back into the tie.
Rather than shake hands on a 2-2 draw, however, the two clubs contested a penalty shootout, where Real Madrid triumphed 3-2 for their only ‘victory’ over Arsenal to date.
Last two meetings
Mar 08, 2006: Arsenal 0-0 Real Madrid (Champions League Last 16 Second Leg)
Feb 21, 2006: Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal (Champions League Last 16 First Leg)
Read more on Arsenal vs Real Madrid
No Data Analysis info
