Arsenal have four weeks to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid.
The Gunners will host the European champions on the 8th of April before travelling to the Bernabeu to face Carlo Ancelotti’s men on the 16th.
Real Madrid overcame Atletico to book their place in the last eight, while Arsenal eased past PSV Eindhoven, dispatching of the Dutch side 9-3 on aggregate.
Beating Los Blancos over two legs will certainly be a tough task for the North London outfit, although former pundit Martin Keown believes Arsenal have it in them to win the tie, and negate the array of talented footballers at Ancelotti’s disposal.
Gabriel Magalhaes has warned Mikel Arteta about Real Madrid’s greatest threat
Ancelotti will likely field a front four consisting of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrgyo and Kylian Mbappe for both legs against Arsenal.
The Italian will also be able to call upon the likes of Brahim Diaz, Endrick and Arda Guler from the bench.
Meanwhile, Arsenal may have Bukayo Saka back but will be forced to play without a recognised striker, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus out for the season.
The disparity in forward options certainly makes Real Madrid the favourites, but the Gunners will be confident that they have the defensive solidity to mute the La Liga side’s attacking players.
Gabriel Magalhaes will have a lot on his plate, and the Brazilian defender has already hinted who he expects to cause the Arsenal backline the most issues.
After the Ballon d’Or was awarded to Rodri back in October, Gabriel claimed that Vinicius was the best player in the world, and deserved the accolade over the Manchester City man.
“Vini Jr. is the best player in the world,” he said.
“No doubts. He deserves the Ballon d’Or.”
Vinicius has netted 19 goals and provided ten assists across all competitions for Real this season, and will certainly be one of the main threats Arsenal will be devising a plan to deal with.
Jurrien Timber will likely be deployed at right-back to take Vinicius on one-on-one, with the Dutchman’s excellent defensive abilities a good match for Gabriel’s compatriot.
Kylian Mbappe is actually Real Madrid’s biggest threat to Arsenal
While Vinicius’ dribbling ability and goal threat from out wide can trouble Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will be confident that Timber has the defensive nous to thwart the winger.
However, Mbappe has come into his own in recent months, and arguably re-established himself as the best player on the planet.
The Frenchman has scored 29 goals in all competitions this season, and his pace will be an issue for Arsenal’s high line.
While the Gunners may look to sit back at the Bernabeu, they’ll likely look to impose their front-footed pressing system on Los Blancos at the Emirates, and this could leave space for Mbappe to exploit in transition.
William Saliba and Gabriel both boast impressive recovery pace, but Mbappe’s speed is at a different level to most of the players they’ll ever have to deal with.
Thus, while stopping Vinicius will be important, the former Paris Saint-Germain man’s electric pace is the primary cause for concern for Arteta.
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