On Tuesday, April 8, at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Emirates Stadium will host an electrifying matchup between Arsenal and Real Madrid, with a spot in the UEFA Champions League semifinals up for grabs. The London team, not reaching this stage in 16 years, aims to make history, while Madrid, despite a shaky season, remains the eternal favorite at this point in the competition.

The current situation of both teams

Both teams are facing tough situations. The ‘Gunners’, hit by several injuries, will try to take advantage of their home advantage and make the most of their only real title shot this season. On the other hand, Real Madrid comes off a surprising loss to Valencia in LaLiga, but it's in the Champions League where they usually shine, with an impressive record of 12 wins in their last 12 quarterfinal encounters.

Coach comments

Mikel Arteta, the coach of Arsenal, spoke about Real Madrid's current situation before the match. Despite the loss to Valencia, Arteta doesn't believe it will have an impact on Madrid. "When I analyze Madrid, I do it in the context of where we are going to be. If it benefits us (the loss), great, but we can't control it; we always expect the best Madrid," he said.

On the other hand, Arteta expressed confidence in his team's chances. "I'm fully convinced we can win. This is why I started playing football, for these kinds of games. It's a great opportunity to make our own history. This is where we want to be, where we should be regularly. The players are convinced, if I had to convince them, we’d have a problem. We've competed against the big teams for the past two years, so we can do it again," he stated.

For Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti addressed the criticism of his management: "It could be that many people are tired of seeing me on the bench at Real Madrid, but the most important person is the president, and he supports me, helps me. That's what matters. What changes the dynamic is that the most important person at this club doesn't get tired of me," he said.

Ancelotti also commented on the doubts about who will take penalties after Vinícius' miss against Valencia. "We’ve thought about it and tomorrow we’ll handle it," said Ancelotti, not giving any clues as to whether it will be Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, or Vinícius who takes on the responsibility.

The historical precedent

This encounter carries significant historical weight: the only time Arsenal and Real Madrid faced each other in the Champions League was in the Round of 16 in the 2005-2006 season, when Arsenal eliminated Real Madrid and made it to the final, where they lost to Barcelona. Since then, the English team hasn't come as close to European glory.

Real Madrid's dominance in Champions League history

The Real Madrid, the club with the most titles, games, and wins in Champions League history, arrives with an impressive record: 33 quarterfinals won, with an 84.6% success rate in this phase, and a perfect record under Ancelotti. In addition, they’ve beaten nine out of their last twelve encounters against English clubs and haven't lost in the quarterfinals since 2004. Will Arsenal be able to break this streak? The Tuesday game will write another chapter in this historic competition.