Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are ready to activate “beast” mode for their crunch Champions League semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal are just one game away from their first Champions League final in 20 years and head into Tuesday’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium with the last-four tie poised at 1-1.
The Gunners will be flying high after their pivotal home win against Fulham on Saturday which ramped up the Premier League pressure on Manchester City.
But, speaking on the eve of Arsenal’s decisive European clash in London – with either Paris St Germain or Bayern Munich waiting in the final – Arteta said: “We will take to the pitch as beasts tomorrow and enjoy the moment and go for it.
“I can’t wait. I feel the energy among the team and our supporters. This is the moment that we want to live together. We have worked hard as a club and as a team after 20 years to be in this position again. And we are so hungry to get through to that final.
“It is a feeling of huge excitement. It’s difficult to express the desire to live that moment, especially with our people in front of us.
“They’ve been waiting for so long to have this kind of night. So let’s push hard tomorrow, because something amazing is going to happen.”
Arteta will be boosted by the availability of captain Martin Odegaard, absent from his side’s win against Fulham, and also Kai Havertz, who has missed the past two games with a knee injury.
Arsenal last appeared in a Champions League final in 2006 – a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona – and the north London club have never won Europe’s grandest competition.
However, when asked if he could visualise Odegaard lifting the famous trophy later this month, Arteta, who has been manager of Arsenal since 2019, continued: “I did that many years ago and it was the thing that I had in mind for this club.
“You can never promise to win major trophies, but you can promise to work every single day by implementing the vision and being determined with the ideas and the decisions to make this club one of the best in Europe. Here we are. Now we have to make the next step.”
Unlike at this stage last season, Arteta resisted the urge to call on his supporters to “bring their boots and kick every ball” in order to carry their side to the final, which this year will be staged in Budapest on May 30.
But the Arsenal manager said he is expecting a hostile atmosphere for what will be his team’s penultimate game at home in a season they hope will end with two trophies.
“I don’t think a message (to the fans) is needed,” added Arteta. “It’s what is at stake that says it all.
“But I can’t wait to live this moment with our supporters, our people and generate something really, really special to get into that final. Let’s live this together, go grab it and let’s make it happen.”
