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Arsenal press conference – Arteta on Real Madrid, latest news and Bukayo Saka.
Mikel Arteta faces the media ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta faces the press ahead of Arsenal’s massive UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium. The first of two legs with the second played in the Bernabeu next week.
Arteta has now welcomed back Bukayo Saka into his Arsenal squad as he looks to take the fight to Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Two substitute performances are under the England international’s belt which comes as a big boost.
Equally for the opposition, Ancelotti has been able to include Thibaut Courtois in his squad having missed several weeks through injury. Los Blancos lost at the weekend to Valencia and could have some vulnerabilities that Arteta will look to exploit.
Kylian Mbappe fires clear four-word Arsenal message after Real Madrid nightmare.
Real Madrid’s pre-Arsenal preparations took a major dent as they were beaten at home against Valencia.
Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has sent a defiant message ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Arsenal.
Mbappe, 26, was in action for Real Madrid as they met Valencia on Saturday night. However, the France captain couldn’t prevent his side from falling to a shock 2-1 defeat at Santiago Bernabau.
Carlo Ancelotti named a strong starting XI to face Valencia, but witnessed his team go behind in the 15th minute through Mouctar Diakhaby. Vinicius Jr, who missed a first-half penalty, levelled for Los Blancos in the 50th minute, but that meant little to the end result, as Carlos Corberan’s visitors won it in stoppage-time.
Hugo Duro was the match-winner for Valencia in the 95th minute as Real Madrid stumbled just a few days before their blockbuster first-leg trip to Arsenal. And after the match, Mbappe, who failed to find the net for the first time in four La Liga matches, fired a warning to the Gunners that Real’s firm focus is on Tuesday night.
In an Instagram story, Mbappe said: “A bad day for us. Full focus on Tuesday.”
In truth, Real Madrid battered Valencia. Yes, the score-line is the most important statistic, but Ancelotti’s men had 21 shots, nine shots on target and created three big chances. They also accumulated a huge 3.7 expected goals (xG).
Comparing that to Valencia, Corberan’s side had 10 shots, two shots on target, and created two big chances. They accumulated just 0.81 expected goals (xG) throughout the match.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Ancelotti, despite the defeat, was buoyed by his side’s performance. “We created a ton of chances and were very close to scoring,” the Italian head coach said.
“We may have lacked effectiveness, and in recovering the ball, but we conceded very little.
“It’s true that opponents don’t need much to score against us in these moments.
“We took risks to try to win as a draw wouldn’t have been enough for us, and we got through that counter-attack. We did well offensively. We lacked some effectiveness.”