Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are feeling the weight of history, but urged his players to “live the moment” as they attempt to reach the Champions League final.
The Gunners have never won Europe’s premier club competition and Tuesday’s semifinal, first leg against Paris Saint-Germain is their first appearance at this stage since 2009 – and only their third ever.
“You feel it, especially because we have, fortunately, a lot of people that have worked in the club for many, many years, and they’ve never been in this position,” said Arteta. “So that tells you how unique and beautiful it is. It’s the nicest competition for any European club.
“We’ve never done it, so we need to earn the right to be in that final, and everything is going to start tomorrow.”
Asked how best to channel that desire to break new ground, Arteta continued: “It’s a moment now to say, ‘OK, this is who we are, this is who we are as a team, this is who I am as an individual and I’m going to put my very best in there to make it happen.’
“Play with that mindset and let yourself go. They know everything now is about, OK, where are the limits and how far I’m able and how far I want to go. That’s it.
“Live the now, the present. This is where we are. We are so fortunate. We put so much into it to be in the position that we are. We earn it with our work, with our enthusiasm, because we face a lot of challenges and we managed to compete at the highest level for ten months. So we earn it now. Be present and live the moment. It’s a beautiful moment. Let’s live it and let’s enjoy it.”
Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey after the midfielder picked up a one-game suspension for a booking in their quarterfinal, second leg against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. It was the only negative from a stunning evening in which the Gunners secured a 2-1 win on the night to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory and Arteta said his players will take inspiration from that night.
“I think going to the Bernabeu is probably the biggest test that you can have as a European team because of the history, because of the very recent history and a lot of the things that happened there,” said Arteta. “I think we managed that game really, really well. And I think that brings confidence and experience to a team that most of us, we never had before.”
Ben White and Mikel Merino both trained earlier in the day at London Colney but Riccardo Calafiori missed out with a knee problem. With Partey unavailable, Merino is expected to revert to a conventional midfield role with Leandro Trossard drafted into the forward line.