Football
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal’s supporters to “play the game with us” ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Arsenal host the holders in the first leg of this stage, and Arteta says the team will need the backing of the entire Emirates Stadium.
The club are taking steps to help augment the atmosphere, with plans for a light show, pyrotechnics, a red and white display that will encompass the entire stadium, and two new fan-led tifo banners in the stands.
Arsenal will place a recyclable commemorative plastic bag on every home seat in the Emirates Stadium, which supporters will be asked to raise overhead as the players emerge from the tunnel.
This will transform the stadium into a huge red and white display. Supporters are encouraged to keep the bags as keepsakes or place them in a specially organised recycling point at the stadium. There will also be two large tifos unveiled in the Clock End and East Stand, which have been designed after consultation with fan groups.
Supporters are encouraged to arrive at the stadium early to help build the atmosphere. To encourage them, Arsenal are granting a “buy one and get one on us” offer on drinks for the first hour after the stadium opens.
“I encourage them to come very early to the warm-up and create those nights that we haven’t lived many of those at the Emirates,” says Arteta.
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal fans to be vocal at the Emirates on Tuesday night (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
“We’re going to put all the ingredients, everything that is in our hands, to play the game that we want and to take the game in the direction that we want,” the Arsenal manager told his pre-match press conference on Monday. “In order to achieve that, we’re going to need our people playing every single ball with us.
“That’s going to make a huge difference because that’s something that is really needed. At these stages, you need your home stadium to create a very special atmosphere to generate momentum.
“I encourage everybody to go there tomorrow to play the game with us. Not to be there watching it, but to play the game with us.”
Arsenal host the competition’s holders at the Emirates Stadium, hoping to replicate the feat of knocking them out of the competition — something they achieved in 2006.
“That’s why I came into football,” said Arteta. “That’s why I came into management and especially to this football club. It’s been 20 years since we had this type of game, and for us, it’s a great opportunity to build our own story, and this is what we’re here for.”
There was no notable team news for the tie, with Arteta saying that all players who faced Everton came through relatively unscathed — including Ben White, who got some valuable game time. Bukayo Saka also faced the media and, when asked whether he now considered himself fit to start, answered, “Yeah — there’s only one way to find out.”
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
James McNicholas has covered Arsenal extensively for more than a decade. He has written for ESPN, Bleacher Report and FourFourTwo Magazine, and is the co-host of the Arsecast Extra Podcast. Follow James on Twitter @gunnerblog
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