ARSENAL’S Bukayo Saka taunted Real Madrid ahead of tonight’s Champions League quarter-final and vowed: “You should fear us.”
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last ten matches in the competition at the Emirates — winning eight.
And boss Mikel Arteta wants fans to bring the noise to unsettle Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Co.
Asked if the reigning champs should fear Arsenal, fit-again winger Saka said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. Just looking at our home record in the Champions League itself, I don’t think we’ve lost a game in the last two seasons there.
“I’m sure Real know that and they need to be ready — because we’re pretty good at that.
“It’s Madrid. You have to respect what they’ve done in their history but anything can happen.”
Arsenal, who have yet to win a European Cup, want to write a new chapter by beating Carlo Ancelotti’s 15-time champs, who lost 2-1 at home to Valencia in LaLiga at the weekend.
And boss Arteta pleaded with the Emirates crowd to produce an unmatched atmosphere to get them over the line in tonight’s first-leg blockbuster.
The Spaniard said: “I encourage them to come very early to the warm-up and create those nights that we haven’t lived at the Emirates a lot.
“We’re going to need our people playing every single ball with us.
“You need your home stadium to create a very special atmosphere.”
Arsenal have reached back-to-back Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years.
And Arteta wants more. He added: “It is 100 per cent the biggest night of my career.
“It’s a great opportunity to build our own story.
“The excitement around the club, the magnitude of this match. This is the stage we want to be at.
“I am super convinced we are ready to win and to beat them. That’s the mindset I want.”
Arsenal are without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori — but Saka is ready to start after two sub appearances following his return from a torn hamstring.
And he gave Arsenal a pre-match lift by hinting he is ready to sign a new deal.
The England star, 23, who has two years left on his contract, said: “I want to win and I want to win wearing this badge. It’s pretty clear the fans know how much I love them. I think they love me back.
“I’m really happy to be here.
“In an Arsenal shirt, it probably will be the biggest night of my career.
“I couldn’t ask to come back at a better time of the season than now. I have no doubt that the fans are going to be up for it.
“It’s a game that I definitely want to be involved in. If you ask my physios, there was a lot of conversation about this game.
“That’s what I spent months working massively towards. We’re here now so I’m excited.”
The last time Arsenal played Real Madrid in the Champions League was in 2006, when Saka was just four years old.
In the first leg of that last-16 tie, Thierry Henry scored an iconic solo goal to down Real at the Bernabeu before a goalless draw at Highbury sent the Gunners through.
Galvanised by the triumph, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal followed it up with aggregate wins over Juventus and then Villarreal to reach the final, losing to Barcelona 2-1 in Paris.
Saka would love a moment like that, emulating a club legend that he regularly chats to for advice.
He said: “We want to write our own story. But a moment like that would be nice.
“The biggest thing I take when I speak to Thierry is the confidence that he has in himself.
“Obviously he gives me a few details in certain situations on the pitch and what he sees and how he sees the game. For me, when I speak to him, I like the way he’s so confident.
“He genuinely believes that when he was on the pitch no one could stop him.
“With that belief he literally just destroyed the league. That’s what I admire about him the most.”
Read the full article here