Real Madrid fires warning shots at Arsenal ahead of crunch UCL second leg at Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid has fired shots at Arsenal ahead of the two sides' meeting for the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg. The Gunners enter this fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, holding a 3-0 lead.
Mikel Arteta and Co. were brilliant in the first leg and largely outplayed their Spanish opponents. Declan Rice scored two brilliant free kicks, while Mikel Merino bagged a third for his side.
However, Los Blancos seem to believe that they can turn this tie around. Taking to their X account (formerly Twitter), Real Madrid posted a clip of the club asking ChatGPT to translate a sentence from Spanish to multiple languages.
The statement read:
"Ninety minutes at the Bernabeu are very long."
Arsenal have a few issues going into this tie. They are still without key players like Kai Havertz and central defender Gabriel. The Gunners have not shown the best form in the Premier League of late, winning just one of their last three English top-flight encounters.
Real Madrid is in a similar place, too, still chasing Barcelona for the title, who are at the top of the standings and four points clear of Carlo Ancelotti's men. They beat Alaves 1-0 in their previous league encounter, but suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valencia before that.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says his team is excited ahead of the second leg against Real Madrid
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that his team was excited and looking forward to the second-leg quarter-final match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The Gunners, who have never claimed this prize, are up against the 15-time winners of this competition. Speaking ahead of this monumental clash, Arteta said (via The Guardian):
“The feeling is excitement. We want to create history. We are trying to do something consistently, to start to dominate European competition. This is a great opportunity. For sure, we are convinced."
He added about the way the team was feeling:
"When you want to create history, build a story, first of all you have to be excited, really prepared and really convinced about what you want to achieve. Then it is about insisting, going step by step.”
Real Madrid seems fairly up for the contest, with midfielder Jude Bellingham claiming that the word most used in the dressing room has been "remontada." The La Liga outfit is also the current holders of the Champions League trophy, having beaten Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in last year's final .
