I saw Arsenal Women show Mikel Arteta exactly how to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final next month.

The Gunners are all but out of the Premier League title race, with Liverpool sat 12 points ahead of Mikel Arteta’s team with just nine games remaining.

However, the Champions League remains on the table for the North Londoners, as Real Madrid await Arsenal over two legs in April.

Arteta has been presented with the perfect blueprint of how to take down Los Blancos by the Arsenal Women, who reversed a two-goal deficit at the Emirates on Wednesday night, to progress to the semi-final of Europe’s elite competition.

• READ MORE: How many minutes every Arsenal player played during international break, including Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly

Arsenal Women beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates

When the respective men’s and women’s Champions League quarter-final draws took place, the symmetrical ties for Arsenal set up perfectly for narratives to be written.

Both Arteta and Renee Slegers’ teams were pitched against Real Madrid, and the latter’s side have already overcome the Spanish giants.

Playing the first leg in Madrid on an awful pitch, the Liga F team took a surprise 2-0 lead to North London.

However, Arsenal were able to overturn this deficit, beating Real Madrid 3-0 in front of a record crowd at the Emirates.

After a dominant first-half display from the Gunners, that lacked a cutting edge, they finally found the breakthrough shortly after the break when Alessia Russo tucked home at the back post from a pinpoint cross from Chloe Kelly.

Arsenal levelled the tie minutes later when Mariona Caldentey headed past Maria Rodriguez from another Kelly cross, before Russo secured the English side’s passage to the last four by emphatically pouncing on a loose ball inside the box.

Slegers’ outfit will play Lyon over two legs in the semi-final.

Mikel Arteta can take inspiration from Arsenal Women’s win over Real Madrid

Arteta has just under two weeks until his team plays the first leg against Real Madrid, and there’s no doubt that he’ll have kept a close eye on the Women’s team’s tie against the Spanish side.

I was in attendance at the Emirates for the second leg against Los Blancos, and it was clear how Arsenal deliberately set up to win the game.

With the playing style and ethos similar across both teams at the Bernabeu, Arteta can certainly take notes from Slegers’ game plan.

The Dutch coach deployed Russo as a focal point and looked to use the likes of Kelly and Caitlin Foord to play off the English striker, making diagonal runs beyond her.

This was extremely effective, and Arteta can certainly replicate it.

Mikel Merino has the ability to lead the line and be that focal point for the Arsenal men’s team, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli capable of stretching the Real Madrid back-line either side of the Spaniard.

Saka is expected to be fit for the first leg, while Martinelli has had two weeks off over the international break to prepare for the run-in.

The stage is set for Arsenal to do the double over Real Madrid.