Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid in his ‘biggest night in management’ to date.
Arsenal host the holders in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at the Emirates on Tuesday. The Gunners are aiming to reach the Champions League semi-final for just the third time, but face a formidable challenge against the record 15-time winners.
19 years later. It’s Real Madrid in N5 again. pic.twitter.com/xZSyyGyHpZ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 7, 2025
Real Madrid won last season’s competition and have lifted the trophy six times since 2014 alone. However, Arsenal progressed 1-0 on aggregate from the only previous meeting between the teams, during the 2005/06 season.
Arteta is relishing the chance to take on the Spanish side and said it has been two decades since Arsenal had a game of this magnitude.
“That’s why I came into football. 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,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
Asked whether tomorrow’s tie is his biggest night in management, Arteta added:“100%. It’s a joy to prepare the game, to look at them, just to look at the reaction of people and how we feel about ourselves coming into a game of that magnitude.
“The excitement around the club, the people, this is the stage that we want to be and where Arsenal has to be consistently. We are very proud to be there and now we’re very ready tomorrow to deliver. This is proper now, the last stage of the proper team in the competition.”
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