Real Madrid are said to have taken one key lesson from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side which inspired their win against Manchester City last night.
Of course, whilst Carlo Ancelotti’s Galaticos were winning in Manchester, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side were diligently trying to do the same away to Bayern Munich.
Ultimately that ended in failure on this occasion, with Arsenal missing out on a semi-final date with Madrid by the smallest of margins.
It felt as if Arsenal’s lack of experience in these situations proved costly, and Bayern just had the aura of a side that were going to progress.
Of course, that was helped by the fact that they completely stifled the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who are often now accused of going missing in big games.
That isn’t the case, and that argument is unfair, but there’s clearly work to be done for Arsenal offensively against Europe’s best teams.
Arsenal can defend against anyone, they proved that at the Etihad a few weeks ago, but they perhaps are still lacking a ‘ruthless’ touch up top.
That being said, Marca have just shared a report detailing how Real Madrid studied that Arsenal performance against Man City.
Real Madrid studied Arsenal’s defensive performance in detail against Manchester City
Having conceded three goals against Man City in the first leg at home, the Real Madrid coaches meticulously unpicked how Arsenal were able to achieve a clean sheet.
Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Man City on March 31st therefore served as a reference for Ancelotti’s team, who knew the importance of protecting Andriy Lunin’s goal.
And with just the one goal conceded to Kevin De Bruyne before a penalty shootout decided the game, that’s probably a job well done.
The report states that Madrid’s staff and players felt perfectly confident that they could limit Man City after watching Arsenal’s approach.
Of course, some Arsenal fans may therefore wish that Mikel Arteta had studied the attacking play of the likes of Rodrygo and Vinicius Jnr.
This compliment from Real Madrid isn’t expected to serve as a tonic for Arsenal fans right now, but it’s an ode to the success of their project.
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Following back to back losses to Aston Villa and Bayern, it’s understandably difficult to remain optimistic, but Mikel Arteta has bought us this far.
All that being said, Arsenal have been told there’s a big chance they could sign a 21-year-old star for £60m this summer.