Real Madrid will face Arsenal in the Champions League quarter finals. The Gunners won the first leg of their previous tie against PSV (1-7), so a draw in the return leg was enough to take them through to the next round. Arsenal drew 2-2 and are now through to the quarter finals on aggregate (9-3).
This will be the second time that Real Madrid and Arsenal have met in the Champions League. The first time was in 2006 in the round of sixteen. The English side stormed the Bernabéu in the first leg with a superb performance from Henry, while in the second leg they drew 0-0 and the Whites were eliminated.
Problems against Real Madrid
Arsenal will be without several key players for the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, including strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, both of whom are out for the long term. The former has a hamstring injury that required surgery, while the latter ruptured the cruciate ligaments in his knee. Raheem Sterling will also be missing after receiving a yellow card in the second leg of the last 16, which will see him miss the first leg.
For the match against the Whites, Arsenal had doubts about Bukayo Saka, their second highest scorer (nine goals) who has been out since the end of December with a muscle problem. However, as the Daily Mirror reports, the attacker is speeding up his recovery with a clear objective: to reach the tie against Real Madrid at the beginning of April.
When do Real Madrid and Arsenal play?
The day of truth is approaching. Real Madrid will face Arsenal in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The first leg will be on Tuesday April 8th in London starting at 21.00. The return leg between Real Madrid and Arsenal will be on Wednesday April 16th. The match will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu and will also kick off at 21.00.
The fight for the Premier
Arteta’s Arsenal won last weekend’s London derby against Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium. The only goal of the game was scored by Mikel Merino, who once again played as centre forward for the Gunners. Real Madrid’s next Champions League opponent have another win and extend their unbeaten run against the Blues to eight games. With this victory, the Gunners have won the Premier League again three games later and are 12 points behind Liverpool.
A striker on the agenda
Hoping that the fight for the Premier League will be a more feasible option for next season, Arsenal are already working on finding reinforcements to improve the squad. The London club will give priority to the arrival of a new striker. That is why it has already set the wheels in motion for the summer, reactivating its interest in a player who has been on its radar for some time.
We are referring to Ollie Watkins (29 years old) who the English team see as an ideal alternative for Mikel Arteta’s squad. Linked to Aston Villa until June 2028, this striker has clearly shown his impact in the Premier League.
This is not a new interest as the Gunners bid €47.5 million for him, but were rejected. Therefore, if they want to secure his signature, they will have to up their bid to at least €50 million to complete the transfer.