The Champions League quarter-final stage commences this week. Arsenal will welcome Real Madrid, to the Emirates Stadium for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
It's been quite a disappointing season for Arsenal this year by their standards. The Gunners crashed out of both domestic cups and have lost ground in their league title challenge. They currently sit nine points back in second place.
Arsenal have not lost in their previous seven games. However, have only lost two of their last 17 matches. Real Madrid could be in for a surprise in London.
Mikel Arteta will be hammering home to his players that this competition is likely their last chance of turning this season into something to remember for Arsenal fans, but it will come with difficulty facing the Los Blancos.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are Real Madrid. Kings of the Champions League will be tough to beat in this competition no matter what their domestic form or the state of their squad is. They are driven by their reputation.
A loss to Carlos Corberan's Valencia midweek (only Los Che's second win in 12 months away from home) will not have affected the mindset of Los Blancos too much.
Carlo Ancelotti can rely on his team's past experiences to help pull them through this tie despite having a fairly depleted and inexperienced defense.
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Form Guide - Last Five Games
- Drew: 1-1 v Everton
- Won: 2-1 v Fulham
- Won: 1-0 v Chelsea
- Drew: 2-2 v PSV
- Drew: 1-1 v Man United
Real Madrid
- Lost: 1-2 v Valencia
- Drew: 4-4 v Real Sociedad
- Won: 3-2 v CD Leganes
- Won: 1-2 v Villareal
- Lost: 1-0 v Atletico Madrid
Team News
Arsenal
Arsenal will be without Riccardo Calafiori who misses the game through injury and they will also be missing Raheem Sterling, who is suspended for this fixture.
Real Madrid
Los Blancos defender Ferland Mendy will miss the game with a hamstring injury, whilst Dani Ceballos is not expected to take part in the opening leg of the fixture despite being back in training. Aurelien Tchouameni will miss the game through suspension.
Predicted Lineup(s)
Arsenal: Raya (GK); Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Martinelli, Merino
Real Madrid: Courtois (GK); Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Garcia; Modric, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicus; Mbappe
Match Facts
Arsenal and Real Madrid have only ever faced each other twice before. Both games were during the two teams' Round of 16 tie in 2006. Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals that year thanks to a Thierry Henry goal and some fairly famous nonchalant time wasting.
Arsenal
Despite the unbeaten seven-game run, Arsenal have only won three of those matches, highlighting their injury crisis up front.
The Gunners have only reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League twice in the past 15 years. They lost to Bayern Munich at the same stage last season.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have not managed to keep a clean sheet in their previous eight games.
The last time Real Madrid failed to reach this stage was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Players
Arsenal: Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard
Generally, two players are not picked for a club but Arsenal were without both players for a significant portion of this season and their creativity plummeted. The two players don't just produce an end product as they are creative in ways that help Arsenal beyond goals and assists.
If the Gunners are to win the tie, then they will both be incredibly key to a victory.
Real Madrid: Kylian Mbappe
French star and 2018 World Cup winner, but Kylian Mbappe will be the most important player on the pitch for Real Madrid on Tuesday. He already has 33 goals this season for Real Madrid and was a key component in Madrid's win over Manchester City earlier in the competition.
The Parisian is part of a semi-galactico generation at Madrid, and will want to prove that their near half-decade long pursuit was more than worth the wait.
How to watch the game
For USA viewers, the game kicks off in the middle of the afternoon at 3:00pm EST/1:00pm PST. The game will be shown on CBS Sports.
