Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to approach their Champions League clash with “urgency” as they look to build momentum in a busy season.
Arsenal are still fighting for victory on four fronts and sit at the top of the Premier League and Champions League table, with the Opta supercomputer making them heavy favorites on both fronts.
They are given a 90.3% chance of winning their first league title since 2004, while their hopes of lifting the European top prize are 25%.
Arsenal come into this match having dropped points in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest in the English top flight, and after their meeting with Inter at San Siro they face old rivals Manchester United in the league.
But Arteta says his focus only extends to Tuesday’s match.
“Every match in the Champions League, if you have the chance to achieve something, you have to take it,” he told reporters.
“We will really have to earn it against a top team, we know that. And then we will of course prepare every match to win it, and the urgency will be the same.”
“We keep fooling the players – the next one is the most important one of the season, and three days later it’s the same!
“Those are the demands, those are the expectations we have, that is the standard we have set, both as a team and as a club, and we live with that, with joy, with enthusiasm and with a lot of energy as requested.”
If Arsenal win this game, they will post their longest ever winning streak in the Champions League (seven).
They won each of their last six games in the league by an aggregate score of 17–1, keeping five clean sheets.
However, Inter have won two of the three previous matches between the sides (L1), including one against Arteta-led Arsenal in the league phase of last season (1-0 in November 2024).
“They have a number of different players in the team, and also a different coach,” Arteta said of Inter.
“I think the task will be just as difficult, but I think, looking back, we put in a very strong performance here. The margin by which we lost the game was a penalty. Obviously we all saw what happened there and were very disappointed.”
“We’ll know tomorrow how they line up. We have a very clear idea of what we need to do to win the game, and what we need to apply to be better than them.”
“We are very clear about what we have to do to play the game we want to play, and then you deserve it. It has to happen when we have the chance to score the goal and then dominate these things, which are vital.”
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