ARTETA FIRES ARSENAL WARNING AHEAD OF ATLETICO MADRID SEMI-FINAL TEST.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has warned his side to be fully ready for the challenge
ahead as they prepare to face Atletico Madrid in a second successive Champions
League semi-final appearance.
Arteta, who guided Arsenal to their first semi-final in the competition since 2009, last
season before a defeat to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, says the
opportunity to go one step further this time must be taken.
“It was a massive win for us against Newcastle,” Arteta said. “You could sense
straight away the energy, the confidence coming into this game. It’s a massive
privilege to be here again, two years in a row, in the semi-final of the Champions
League.”
“What an opportunity. We’re going to grab it with both hands. You’re going to see a
team that wants to be dominant, that wants to win it, and that wants to start to decide
the tie tomorrow.”
Arsenal remain unbeaten in this season’s Champions League but arrive under
pressure domestically, with their Premier League lead reduced to three points as
Manchester City is close in with a game in hand, alongside a recent FA Cup exit to
Southampton.
Arteta insisted his team is prepared for the demands of the tie.
“We know the difficulty of the match,” he said. “But we have shown in Europe what
we are capable of. Tomorrow we have to play with that confidence, that desire, and
that will to win.”
“We’ve learned from experiences, but this is a completely different game, especially
here. We know what they are capable of, and we know exactly what we have to do.”