Arteta looking for Arsenal calmness as they hold 3-0 lead of Real Madrid
15/04/2025
uefa25 champions league
Real madrid 0-3 Arsenal quarter final second leg
15/04/2025
uefa25 champions league
Real madrid 0-3 Arsenal quarter final second leg
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi Mikkel, could we just start with team news please, is there any updates for us?
00:06The positive one Ben White, he's managed to train with us today so he will be in the squad.
00:11Thomas Partey, is he fit enough to be involved and what about Jorginho as well?
00:15Yeah he's available, he had a little niggle during the game that's why he had to come off.
00:20But he felt good after the last few days so he's fine.
00:23And Jorginho unfortunately is not here, after the incident of the weekend he hasn't recovered.
00:29So yeah, our thoughts are with him.
00:31How would you approach this game?
00:33Do you ignore the fact that you're 3-0 in the lead or do you take that into account?
00:38To win it, the same that we did in London.
00:40Our preparation has been the things that we have to do, the things that we have to dominate
00:45throughout the game in different phases to give us the best possible chance to win the game.
00:50That's clear our mindset and that we're going to play tomorrow.
00:53And finally there's been lots of talk about comebacks and the noise in the stadium tomorrow night.
00:58How would you make sure that your players don't get wrapped up in the emotion?
01:02I understand that, it's part of their history and they have the right to be talking about these kind of scenarios.
01:08Ours is very different and our mindset, preparation, our thoughts and how we're going to have the best chance to be better than them
01:16in the aspects that are crucial in the game because we're going to try to take the game to places very different to our intentions.
01:23And if we do that, we're going to have a good chance to win the game.
01:28Hi there, Mikel.
01:29Hi.
01:30We spoke to Jude Wellingham earlier.
01:32He says that the word that is buzzing around the Madrid camp is comeback or remontada.
01:37What's the key attribute that your team has to show in this game, do you feel?
01:43The same.
01:44The same mindset.
01:45The mindset to win, to be brave, to be dominant, to be determined and to have the conviction that we can be better than them and win again.
01:56Last one for me.
01:57Creating your own history has been a real theme from you and your players.
02:01Has that been the constant message that you've been sending them through this week?
02:05For sure.
02:06When you have to create a story, when you have to build a story, first of all, you have to be excited about it.
02:14They have to be really prepared about it.
02:16And then you have to be really convinced about what you want to achieve.
02:20And then it's about insisting and go step by step.
02:23And a lot of clubs have built a history by doing it many times, trying many times, sometimes failing, sometimes being successful.
02:30And last year we had an experience.
02:33And with that one, we want to be better this season and apply that to win the semi-finals,
02:38which will be only our third time in the history of our football club.
02:41John from the American UK.
02:43Hello, Mikel.
02:44When we saw Carlo Ancelotti earlier, he talked about his players needing heart and balls for tomorrow night.
02:51I just wonder, from what you've seen this season, can your players match and better that in both departments tomorrow night?
02:59Yes, there are three main aspects in the game.
03:01The physical aspect, the technical and tactical aspect, and the emotional aspect.
03:06And that emotional aspect is very significant because I have a lot of reassurance for what the team has done all season.
03:14In positive context, and in very difficult context, which I think is probably the pathway and why those things happened.
03:21So to prepare us to a scenario like this, and to be convinced that we can handle any situation,
03:26and we're going to enjoy actually playing any kind of game that we have to be thrown tomorrow.
03:30Miguel Independent.
03:31Hi, Miguel.
03:32Have you done anything different to prepare this week, even psychologically?
03:36Because obviously it's quite a strange situation.
03:38You're 3-0 up, yet the Madrid kind of noise is trying to make you believe that you should doubt in some way.
03:44Yeah.
03:45Hopefully every game we do it differently.
03:47It will be very boring for 70 games to prepare the same plan and the same scenario for the players.
03:53So it's a different context, as I said, to the first leg.
03:56That's in the past.
03:57We take learnings from it, some very good, some others that we have to do still better than we did in London.
04:03And then have the capacity to have the intention to take the game where we want
04:08and have very able to adapt quickly to any other kind of scenario to take the game where we want again.
04:14Ian, BBC Radio 5 Live.
04:16Hello, Miguel.
04:17Hi.
04:18Two questions in one, if I may.
04:19How do you block out that external noise?
04:21Because the narrative here in Spain is...
04:23Impossible.
04:24Outside, no.
04:25We can do it on the beach now.
04:27I understand that is the narrative that is going to give the fuel to them.
04:32But also, my other point was, it's over 100 games since you lost by a three-goal margin.
04:39Can you talk about that resilience that you've found in the last couple of years?
04:43And what would your message be to the team in the dressing room before you leave for the field?
04:48That we have to do it again.
04:49I think it's over 472 days or something like this.
04:52But it doesn't matter.
04:53We have to prove it now in this context.
04:55And that's the beauty of it.
04:56That's the challenge.
04:57And that's the great thing about sports.
04:59And that we've shown that we are capable of doing it.
05:02That has to give us reassurance and confidence that we can do it.
05:05And now, let's talk on the pitch and do it on the pitch.
05:08It's the only thing that matters.
05:10Go over here to Tom from Football London.
05:12Over here.
05:13Hi, Miguel.
05:14Hi.
05:15There's been a lot of talk here in Spain, particularly about the word fear.
05:18And suggesting that Arsenal are fearful of the Real Madrid comeback.
05:21Have you seen anything in your players that suggests you've seen any fear in your team this week?
05:25No, I wouldn't use that word.
05:26I mean, I think respect, admiration for what they've done in the competition as a club over
05:32the years.
05:33The history they have.
05:34The values that they defend.
05:35Unbelievable.
05:36Amazing.
05:37An inspiration for any coach, any manager, any team.
05:40But after that is the competition.
05:43It's what we are going to face tomorrow.
05:45An opposition that we know very well.
05:47And we are determined to go out there and try to win the game.
05:51Obviously, all the talk and all the videos that people watched over and over again was
05:54around Declan Rice's free kicks.
05:56Has he been practicing more this week?
05:58Yes, he has.
05:59And if he can create any more of those moments, that would be amazing.
06:03It was a great moment.
06:04I think the third goal as well was beautiful to watch.
06:07A very collective goal.
06:08And yeah, when you go into that stage, you're going to have big team moments, big individual
06:13moments.
06:14And that's time to do it on the pitch.
06:16Phil Pia?
06:17Hi, Mikel.
06:18You said obviously if Arsenal get through, it's only the third semi-final.
06:21If you get it over the line, do you think that's the greatest achievement of your career?
06:25And do you sense any nerves at all within this squad ahead of tomorrow's game?
06:29I think it's excitement.
06:30I think when we talk about creating that, look how small the history is.
06:34We never won the competition.
06:35And we are trying to do something now consistently where we can start to dominate the European competition.
06:41And we have to end the right tomorrow to do that.
06:43In these biggest stages, it doesn't get any better than this.
06:46And I think it's a great opportunity for the team to do it.
06:49Okay, we'll get to as many people as possible, but the last two in English now.
06:52Firstly, Jordan from the Sun behind you.
06:54Hi, Mikel.
06:55Hi.
06:56You say about it's impossible to block out the noise and the narrative before the game starts.
07:01Is there any danger that when the players walk onto the pitch, it's going to be in their minds that they can do this?
07:07They have done this before.
07:08What if we are the next team to suffer?
07:12We have tried to repeat the opposite message.
07:15So in the brain of the players, what they have here in the last 72 hours is something completely different.
07:20And we are very close to them.
07:23And hopefully that's more powerful than anything else.
07:25But, again, you have to be out there.
07:27You have to experience it.
07:28You have to feel it.
07:29And you have to go through it.
07:31And that's what we have to do tomorrow.
07:33Okay, finally one in English for Issam from the Daily Mail.
07:36Hi, Mikel.
07:37With, obviously, Declan Rice's two free-kick goals just the other week,
07:40has that kind of whetted the appetite for more from him from an attacking sense?
07:45In terms of midfielders in England, how high would you rank him up there after his performance this season and last season too?
07:52Yeah, again, I think he's creating the story with us.
07:55And that moment is going to be in our history for a while, especially the way he did it, the manner he did it, and doing it twice, which is very, very rare.
08:04So it's about creating more.
08:06And now I think he's going to have the belief that he's capable of delivering those kind of moments more and more.
08:12And that's something very important because if he believes more, it's going to happen more often.
08:16Okay, that's done in English.