Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta will go in the quarterfinals of the Champions League while Real Madrid takes it on Arsenal over two legs for a place in the last four
Carlo Ancelotti says that the Champions League experience of Real Madrid will be crucial if they want to overcome “fantastic” Mikel Arteta. Real Madrid -Baas Ancelotti pointed to the 15 European cups of the club as one of their biggest strengths and the reason why it carries them through so many difficult moments.
Arsenal will start the quarterfinals as underdogs, but former Eerton boss Ancelotti also revealed his enormous respect for the job that Arteta did at the Emirates. Ancelotti said: “Experience with this competition and knowledge in this competition is really important. It means that you are not afraid to play this kind of game that you put under a lot of pressure.
“It is a very important competition. It is personal. A lot of pressure. So experience is so important. The fact that we have many players who have played many of these games, gives the younger players more confidence.
“The task we have to do is here and we will have to fight until the end to ensure that we can win again. We need courage and personality. An important aspect of that is implementation. We have prepared for that.
Ancelotti also stated that Real Madrid came across a massive test against Arsenal over two legs.
The Italian said: “He has built a complete team. There are not many complete teams in Europe. There are teams that do some things well, but not much that do everything well as Arsenal do. Arsenal is one of the most important clubs in Europe.
“He arrived when I was in Everton and brought them to the top of Europe. He does fantastic work and has built a complete team. They are near the top of the Premier League and are in the Champions League Quarter Finals.
“Mikel Arteta has done fantastic work. From 2020 he has done very well. The team is stronger than in the past and it will be even stronger in the future.”
Real Madrid -keeper Thibaut Courtois stated that he was suitable for Arsenal and also says that they are ready to tackle their threat from set pieces.
Courtois said: “We have a lot of respect for Arsenal and I have a lot of Arsenal friends, so I know they have done great and have been close to winning a Premier League. They play well with a young team and experienced players.
“They defend well, can defend on a low block in a low block and quickly on the counterattack. They can easily score, are dangerous in set pieces, but we have prepared well and have analyzed their game and where we can hurt them and hopefully they will not hurt us.
“Arsenal is doing great and it is a matter of time that they win another trophy, although we can hopefully pass them in the Champions League.”
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