Arsenal are preparing to head to Spain for the second leg of their Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid.
Arsenal stunned Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the first leg thanks to a wonderful brace of free kicks from Declan Rice and an instinctive finish from Mikel Merino to give the Gunners a huge advantage.
Opta’s supercomputer has increased Real Madrid’s chances of making it to the semi final since that first leg defeat with knocks to Gunners duo Thomas Partey and Ben White.
Madrid legend Marcelo has warned Arsenal of the atmosphere they are about to enter into and the Gunners defence are set to be scrutinised by constant waves of attacks and a certain Kylian Mbappe.
David Raya ‘wasn’t impressed’ with Jakub Kiwior against Real Madrid
Speaking at the pre match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Real Madrid, goalkeeper David Raya has delivered his verdict on defender Jakub Kiwior since returning to the side.
The Gunners number one stated that he actually ‘wasn’t impressed’ with Kiwior’s performance against Real Madrid because he knows how good the Polish defender is.
Raya explained: “I wasn’t impressed because I know how good Jakub is and I’m very very convinced and confident with him stepping in after the big injury that Gabi sustained against Fulham.
“I wasn’t surprised by his performance I thought he was very, very, very good and we know how good he is, he shows it in training every day.
“I was very very happy with his performance because that gives him confidence but I wasn’t surprised, it was only a matter of time before he showed his quality.”
Real Madrid surprised by Arsenal during first leg
Speaking at his pre match press conference, Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has stated that he was surprised by the quality of Rice’s free kicks in the 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Bellingham stated: “The free kicks were surprising! I’ve not seen Dec do that before, to be fair. I knew he could take set pieces really well, corners. But I’ve never seen him do that with free kicks!”
Kiwior’s performance may have also come as a surprise to Real Madrid as they looked to target the defender with their movement but he was more than up to the challenge on the night in London.
Arsenal have a weakness in defending leads this season and Arteta will need to ensure that his players are prepared for the cauldron of the Bernabeu and do not freeze on the big occasion.
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