Arsenal will have plenty of opportunities to “hurt” Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates if they can dominate in two key areas, expert Charles Watts believes.
The Gunners come into Tuesday’s blockbuster battle proudly boasting an unbeaten record against the 15-time European champions, albeit from just two previous competitive games in the 2005-06 UCL last 16.
Now 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table with just seven games remaining, Mikel Arteta‘s hopes of bringing silverware to North London between now and the end of the season likely relies on his side eliminating the holders from the Champions League.
Asked by Sports Mole if Tuesday’s match is the biggest match of the Arteta era so far, Watts replied: “It’s hard to judge – how important were those games in the league title run-ins?
“It’s the most glamorous game of the Mikel Arteta era. It doesn’t get any more glamorous than Real Madrid in North London. Just seeing Madrid under the lights, those white shirts, it brings something to the table that is just different.
“We haven’t had that yet at the Emirates. So it’s a massive occasion for the club. The whole of Europe is going to be watching. I don’t know if I’d call it the biggest game of the Arteta era, but it’s certainly the most glamorous and the one that everyone wants to be involved in.
‘Real Madrid visit will be a spectacle for Arsenal’
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“It’s going to be a really special night at the Emirates. The atmosphere is going to be incredible. I just hope the injuries don’t absolutely ruin it. It’s a spectacle for Arsenal. I hope they give it a really good go and really push Madrid, which I think they definitely would have done without injuries to the key players. And I hope they can still do that.”
While Arteta has suggested that Bukayo Saka will be fit to start the first leg after two substitute appearances, the Gunners boss will be without no fewer than six players when Carlo Ancelotti‘s side arrive at the Emirates.
Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Riccardo Calafiori are all out injured, while on-loan Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling is suspended but would have been unlikely to start anyway.
Gabriel’s absence is a devastating blow, as the Brazilian suffered a season-ending hamstring injury against Fulham in last week’s Premier League London derby, although Jakub Kiwior deputised well in his absence during the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Everton.
However, with Saka and Gabriel Martinelli back available, and Thomas Partey poised to join Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the engine room thanks to Jurrien Timber and Ben White shaking off their knocks, Watts can envisage Arsenal troubling Ancelotti’s men out wide and in the centre of the park.
“They definitely need something to take to the Bernabeu,” he added. “If Real Madrid win in North London, it is game over. Arsenal aren’t going to go to the Bernabeu and turn that over. There’s definitely things Arsenal can exploit.
How Arsenal can “hurt” Real Madrid in key areas
“Real Madrid conceded four goals at home to Sociedad. There’s weaknesses there, definitely in the full back area. They had [Aurelien] Tchouameni playing at left back against Sociedad. Right-back, they change things all the time.
“[Federico] Valverde played there against Man City. He’s a makeshift right back, but he’s also been taken out of midfield. You can dominate in midfield, you’ve got a chance of getting on top with Rice and Partey if Partey’s there. There’s definitely ways Arsenal can get around Madrid.
“I look at the flanks as the key areas. Martinelli, if he plays like he did against Fulham, can really hurt whoever they have playing right back. Saka at 80, 90 percent, he will cause whoever the other full back is problems. As much as there is real disappointment about what’s going on in defence, there are still opportunities there to hurt Madrid and to give yourself something to hang on to.”
The Arsenal and Real Madrid men’s teams will lock horns in their Champions League quarter-final after the women’s sides also collided in the last eight, where Renee Slegers‘s Gunners pulled off a captivating comeback in the second leg.
Arsenal fell to a 2-0 defeat in their opening battle at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in atrocious conditions, before netting three times in the second half of their second leg in front of a record-breaking Emirates crowd.
Watts: ‘Arsenal Women set Arsenal men perfect example’
As the women’s side prepare to take on Lyon in the semi-finals, Watts has urged the men to take inspiration from their female counterparts, adding: “It would be nice to have Alessia Russo up front on Tuesday night!
“A fantastic performance from the women. Unbelievable to do what they did. It was really, really special. The second half will live long in the memory, a comeback for the ages.
“They absolutely deserved it. They played well in the first half and were unlucky to go in at 0-0. But then to turn it around the way they did, it was perfect. That shows again that anything’s possible in football. Look at Chelsea as well with their women, the way they came back against Man City.
“It was a perfect example to the men. Hopefully they can take some inspiration from that.”
Following the conclusion of Tuesday’s titanic tussle, Arsenal and Real Madrid reconvene at the Bernabeu on April 16, but Arteta could be dealt a triple suspension blow for the trip to the Spanish capital.
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