Preview: Real Madrid v Arsenal

After our excellent display last week against Real Madrid, we take a 3-0 lead to the iconic Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday (8pm UK), leaving the prospect of a third-ever Champions League semi-final in our history tantalisingly close.

Declan Rice’s two free-kicks and a well-taken finish from Mikel Merino will live long in Arsenal folklore, but they’ll only throw in immortality should we finish the job in the Spanish capital. You have to go back to the 1980s for the last time Madrid overcame such a deficit to advance in Europe, but having scored in every home game in the Champions League since 2018, the holders will still fancy their chances of a comeback.

But they’re facing one of the meanest defences in the competition this term, and a side unbeaten in our last seven Champions League matches. It is our best run since knocking Madrid out of the competition on our way to the final in 2006 - hopefully a positive omen as we look to book a last-four meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.

Ancelotti’s April anguish

Madrid’s hopes of completing a first-ever treble have come unstuck in recent weeks. While they made the Copa del Rey final at the start of the month after coming back four times to clinch a 4-4 draw with Real Sociedad to advance on aggregate, a 2-1 home loss to Valencia courtesy of a 95th-minute goal saw them slip four points behind fellow finalists Barcelona.

Following their three-goal loss in north London, Madrid returned to winning ways with an ill-tempered 1-0 win at Alaves on Sunday which saw Kylian Mbappe sent off four minutes after Eduardo Camavinga netted the only goal of the game on 34 minutes, meaning the striker will now sit out crucial La Liga matches. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric were rotated for that game, leaving them fresh for the second leg.

Two pieces of silverware have been claimed this season - the UEFA Super Cup and the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup when they beat Mexican side Pachuca 3–0 in the final, but Carlo Ancelotti will have to turn his side’s fortunes around if he is to add to his club record haul of 17 trophies this term.

What the managers say

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Arteta: "I think it's excitement [rather than nerves]. When we talk about creating that, it’s all about the history, we’ve never won the competition, and we are trying to do something consistently where we can start to dominate the European competition. We have to earn the right tomorrow to do that on the biggest stage. It doesn't get any better than this, and I think we have a real opportunity for that too.

"A lot of clubs have built their history by doing it many times, trying many times, sometimes failing, sometimes being successful. Last year, we had an experience and with that one, we want to be better this season, and apply that to reach the semi-finals, which will be only our third time in the history of our football club."

Ancelotti: “The team is excited and motivated. Mentally we are in a very good place. We have to have a good handle on the game. Because Real Madrid has all the resources to come back: quality, commitment, experience, fans… the resources are there. The only thing that remains is for each one of us to bring out the best in ourselves.

"In previous years they also said that we didn’t play spectacular football. And that may be true. But what Real Madrid wants more than spectacular football is effective football. The Bernabéu has always helped us a lot. The pitch is always the same, the colour of the grass is the same, but you’ll see a supportive atmosphere.”

Team news

Mikel Arteta revealed that Thomas Partey is fine after he was forced off during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford, while Ben White also trained before the game after missing the game against the Bees with a knock, but Jorginho hasn't travelled after he picked up an abdominal injury in that match.

Raheem Sterling is available again after missing the first leg through suspension, while Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber are one booking away from one-match bans. Gabriel and Kai Havertz (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) remain our long-term concerns.

Camavinga is out following his red card in the first leg, but Aurelien Tchouameni is likely to take his spot in midfield after he served a suspension last week.

Ex-Gunner Dani Ceballos returned to the matchday squad on the weekend, but Ferland Mendy and Andriy Lunin will still be missing with hamstring and calf issues that caused them to miss the game in N5, as will long-term injury victims Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal who have both suffered serious knee injuries.

Talking tactics

Adrian Clarke: The game state suggests that Madrid will have to take the initiative in this second leg, so I would expect them to boast substantially more possession than the 46.6% they enjoyed at Emirates Stadium. We are sure to come under spells of sustained pressure, but the upside is that there should be space for us to strike on the counter-attack.

Real struggled to contain our central midfield in the first leg, so with Camavinga suspended they might start with a completely new engine room pairing. If Ancelotti wants greater athleticism, he could pair Aurelien Tchouameni with Federico Valverde, who played at right-back in north London. Ceballos is another choice, but the Spaniard does not have the running power to match those two teammates. Moving Valverde would weaken them in defence, as Ancelotti would likely use a winger in Lucas Vazquez in that position instead.

Mbappe is the man to watch. He was electric in the opening 45 minutes at our place and has scored seven goals in eight knockout stage ties against English clubs. How we handle his speed and movement is going to form a key part of our game plan.

We also need to be wary of Bellingham’s positioning, he likes to come in off the left wing to a No.10 berth, and from that area of the pitch he is brilliant at creating chances or bursting into the box to score. The England international must be closely followed whenever we don’t have possession.

Facts and stats

We could equal our longest winning run away from home in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (4). Indeed, the only previous time we won four in a row, the fourth game was our victory against Madrid at the Bernabeu in 2006.

We have scored an average of 2.55 goals and conceded 0.55 per game in the Champions League this season (28 scored, six conceded overall), with both of these being our second-best averages in a single campaign, after the 2.63 scored in 2010-/1 and 0.31 conceded in 2005/06.

Real Madrid have lost their last two Champions League matches, and haven’t lost three in a row in the competition since October 2020.

Madrid have failed to score in their last two Champions League games, losing both. They last went three without a goal between February and September 2006 - including two matches against us - while they’ve never lost three major European games in a row without scoring.

Madrid have conceded at least in each of their last 10 European matches at the Bernabeu.

Only Barcelona (36) and Bayern Munich (29) have scored more Champions League goals this season than us (28). It’s the most goals we have ever scored in a Champions League campaign.

Across the 53 games that Madrid have played against English sides in the European Cup/Champions League, they’ve managed to win by more than three goals on just two previous occasions.

Since 2015/16, this will be the 16th time that Real Madrid have played the second leg of a Champions League knockout stage tie at home. Of the previous 15, they’ve only been eliminated on one occasion (v Ajax in the last 16 in 2018/19).

Declan Rice has been involved in six goals in his last seven Champions League appearances (4 goals, 2 assists).

Match officials

Francois Letexier heads up an all-French officiating team, and has been overseeing top-flight matches since 2016 before being added to the FIFA list a year later. He has presided over plenty of big matches, including the final of Euro 2024 when Spain beat England.

While he has never refereed us before, he has plenty of history with Madrid, having officiated them four times including quarter-final clashes against Chelsea and Manchester City at the Bernebau in the past two seasons. His last game involving them saw him award penalties to both sides as Madrid lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in November.

Referee: Francois Letexier

Assistants: Cyril Mugnier, Mehdi Rahmouni

Fourth official: Stephanie Frappart

VAR: Jerome Brisard

Assistant VAR: Bastien Dechepy

Previous trips to the Bernabeu

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We are unbeaten in our three competitive matches against Real Madrid, and are the only side to have faced them three times in major European competition without conceding a single goal.

Our only previous visit to Madrid’s famous home came during our run to the 2005/06 Champions League final at the last-16 stage, as one of Thierry Henry’s greatest ever goals saw us become the first English team to triumph in the Bernabeu.

We have won each of our last four encounters with Spanish opposition in Europe, and each of our last two in the country - our success against Sevilla last season as well as the win in Girona back in January. Those are two of five we’ve obtained in Spain from 19 games.

Live coverage

Tune into Live From N5 just before kick-off to hear live commentary of the game provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will guide you through all the action if you’re out and about.

You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live wherever you are in the world.

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