Arsenal have arrived in the Spanish capital as they bid to reach the Champions League semi-finals ahead of a crucial second leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The Gunners have a 3-0 lead after two sensational Declan Rice free kicks and a Mikel Merino goal but know the job is far from over.
Madrid have a number of top players such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham who can hurt the Gunners and Carlo Ancelotti’s men have the power to turn the tie on its head if they hit top form.
After resting a handful of players for the 1-1 draw against Brentford, boss Mikel Arteta will be confident his side have enough to hold firm against the Spanish giants and reach the last four.
As Arsenal count down to the most important game of their season, Mirror Football has broken down the biggest news and gossip at the Emirates.
Ancelotti’s men will be hoping to secure any advantage they can get as they look to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Arsenal in the second leg and the Spanish giants have been granted a boost – albeit a small one – ahead of Wednesday’s game.
Madrid have reportedly requested to close their roof at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium as the club rely on a vibrant home atmosphere to see them through.
In La Liga, clubs are in control of whether their stadium roof remains open or shut – but in the Champions League, UEFA must give them permission, with any retractable roof not allowed to be opened or closed once the game has started.
But according to Sport Bible, Madrid have had their request granted, following on from several other matches this season where they have played with a closed roof in the Champions League.
Ancelotti has previously spoken about the benefits of a closed roof – having done so during their win over Bayern Munich in last season’s semi-final, which saw Joselu score twice late on to secure their place in the final.
“Acoustically it’s different, there’s more noise, a much better atmosphere, I think,” he said. “That can encourage the team to be even more motivated.”
The Gunners looked to be leading the race to sign Norwegian wonderkid Sverre Nypan having held talks with his club Rosenborg last year.
The 18-year-old is seen as one of football’s rising stars and has been compared to Martin Odegaard after a stunning season last year saw him produce 18 goal contributions in 33 appearances to turn the heads of some major clubs.
But now Arsenal look set to miss out on his signature, with Aston Villa now said to be leading the race to sign him.
According to the Athletic, Unai Emery’s side are “working to close a deal” for the teenager, who is “enthusiastic” about the prospect of arriving at Villa Park, despite the likes of Manchester United also interested in him.
It goes on to say that Villa are yet to agree a fee with Rosenborg or personal terms with Nypan himself.
Arsenal icon Charlie George knows a thing or two about playing Real Madrid after he scored a hat-trick against them – and still ended up on the losing side – and he has warned the club against complacency.
George was playing for Derby County at the time in 1975 when he hit his brilliant treble to inspire a 4-1 first leg lead and scored in the return game in Spain – but Madrid went through after a 5-1 second leg victory after extra time.
Now 74 years old the ex-forward, who played 133 times for his boyhood club, has urged the team to focus on getting the job done and not resting on their laurels.
“I scored four in two games against Real Madrid and came away with nothing. Let’s get the job done on Wednesday, but I’ve been telling them it’s not over. Strange things happen over there, it’s not over until it’s done.”
Reflecting on Derby’s painful defeat, he said: “It was devastating to lose how we did in the second leg. Personally, I managed to score four goals in two games against Real Madrid and still end up on the losing side. I think that we could have done really well in the competition if we had got through.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
