Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta urged his players to live in the moment in the first leg semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have never won Europe’s biggest club competition and this is the first time they have made it to the last four since 2009.
Arteta’s team had knocked out Real Madrid by 5-1 (aggregate score) in the quarterfinal and they will face another tough opponent in the Ligue 1 champions.
“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 the services of Thomas Partey, who was suspended during the quarterfinal clash against Los Blancos. Arteta showered praise on his team after they eliminated the defending champions.
“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.”
