Arteta: Arsenal ready to beat Real Madrid in Champions League

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he has no doubt that Arsenal can defeat Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Arteta also described the match as the “biggest night” of his career.

Arsenal have never been crowned European champions and face the 15-time winners in a quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, with the return leg in Madrid next week.

The two sides have met only twice in European competition, in the last 16 of the 2005/06 Champions League, where Arsenal came out on top.

Speaking on Monday, Arteta, who also captained Arsenal, said: “It is 100 per cent the biggest night of my career.

“That’s why I came into football, and that’s why I came into management and especially to this football club.

“It’s been 20 years since we had this type of game, and for us, it’s a great opportunity to build our own story, and this is what we’re here for.

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“The excitement around the club, the people, and the magnitude of this match. This is the stage we want to be at, and where Arsenal has to be consistently. We are very proud to be there, and now we are very ready to deliver.

“At 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) tomorrow (Tuesday) night, 11 players, 60,000 fans, I am really super-convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That’s the mindset that I want.”

The Champions League represents Arsenal’s best chance of a trophy this season, with the Gunners 11 points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League.

Arsenal were beaten at the same stage of the Champions League last season by Bayern Munich.

But Arteta, expected to start Bukayo Saka for the first time in more than three months on Tuesday, said it was time to write a new script.

He added: “There is a massive gap there for so many years when nothing has happened in this football club in relation to European competitions.

“And we need to change that, and we need to change that quickly. It is just the first leg, but the intention of the team and what we want to achieve tomorrow is very clear. We’re going to go for it.”

Jurrien Timber and Ben White, who played an hour in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday, are both set to be available, with Jakub Kiwior a possibility to line up alongside William Saliba in the absence of the injured Gabriel.

The Star