Arsenal

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Former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott feels "important" midfielder Thomas Partey could be a "miss" against Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners will be without the 31-year-old for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against PSG after he picked up his third booking of the tournament on Wednesday night.

Fellow midfielder Declan Rice showed his frustration towards Partey after he picked up the yellow card for getting involved in an incident with Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger.

Speaking on MOTD: Uefa Champions League, Walcott said: "Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are definitely the two best teams in this season's Champions League, and the semi-final is going to be a completely different story to when Mikel Arteta's side beat them 2-0 at the Emirates in October.

"PSG hadn't really clicked then, but they have now. Arsenal will be ready for them, but I think they might miss Thomas Party, who is suspended after his yellow card tonight.

"He was so important at the Bernabeu, not just with the way he was getting back into the back-line and to help out with the amount of crosses he was dealing with tonight.

"Partey was also helping Arsenal to slow the ball down and to control the midfield. The PSG game is all going to be about the midfield for me and Declan Rice is now probably going to play a game with someone who he is less familiar with.

"Mikel Merino can drop in there, but that might affect the forward line more because of where he has been playing recently.

"This is what Mikel Arteta will be thinking about now, and he might tinker with a few things against Ipswich and Crystal Palace, to try things out before the semi-final."

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to TNT Sports: "One of the best nights in my football career.

"We played against a team with the biggest history. It has been an inspiration for all of us in this competition.

"To be able to win the tie in the manner we have done - I think we have to be very proud of ourselves.

"It is very difficult. After two-to-three minutes you realise anything can happen in this stadium.

"Fortunately, a lot of things went for us. Overall, we did what we had to do to win the game.

"The history we have in this competition is so short. The third time in our history of what we have just done and we have to build on that.

"All this experience is going to help us, for sure."

"We had full belief that we could beat this team and the players did it."

On facing PSG: "I watched the game last night and it was a crazy game.

"I know the manager [Luis Enrique] really well, but let's enjoy tonight.

"They're a different team now and they're on an incredible run at the moment."

On Declan Rice: "Tonight, he was immense. He turned the game around. He was immense today. He made a difference."

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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, speaking to TNT Sports: "We showed that we can play in Europe and beat one of the best teams in the world, home and away. Very proud of this team.

"Tonight was a big statement and I am so happy for everyone."

On his penalty miss: "It can happen. I tried something, but it didn't work. I was confident I was going to score tonight.

"I learn in every moment. Tonight, I am more focused on enjoying the win and then I will review it properly."

On the game: "We felt comfortable. We are quite good when we get into a low block. It took a lot of running but we managed to do it."

On facing PSG: "Much different, I see them playing with much more confidence. We will be ready and it will be a very good match."

On whether Arsenal can win the Champions League: "Yes. I like to believe that."

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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, speaking to TNT Sports: "It is such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club. We had an objective in this competition - we want to win this competition.

"We had so much belief and confidence that we had enough to come here and win the game.

"We had it in our mind and we have done it in real life. What a night for the club.

"It is massive. I sensed it before I turned up to the club that we were on an upward trajectory.

"In this competition, we have done amazingly well. We fully believe it and we have full trust in the manager - he is unbelievable.

"Semi-final, it is massive for us and we want to take tonight in."

On Real Madrid's penalty being overturned: "I knew it wasn't a penalty. I had my arm on him [Kylian Mbappe], but I knew it wasn't a pen. I am an honest guy.

"He fell to the floor and I was fully confident it would get overturned.

"In the end we got the job done and it is a historic night for the club."

On PSG: "Top team. We played them once already, but they're a different team to what they were back then."

Full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly, also speaking to TNT Sports: "It was incredible. When you see it [Bernabeu] on TV it is a lot different to what it is live.

"The fans don't make it easy for us. As long as we stuck together and backed each other through the high and lows we would be fine."

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Arsenal are unbeaten in their four games against Real Madrid in European competition (W3 D1), while only one side have ever gone more consecutive games against Los Blancos in the European Cup/Champions League without losing (seven for Lyon, September 2005-February 2011).

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in 15 goals in 16 Champions League appearances for Arsenal (nine goals, six assists). Of players with 1000+ minutes played for the Gunners, Saka has the best minutes per goal or assist ratio (87) for them in the competition.

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Arsenal are involved in Champions League quarter-final second leg action on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Real Madrid v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Kick-off times 20:00 BST

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Jess Anderson
BBC Sport journalist

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On three out of the past four occasions where Real Madrid have trailed after the first leg in the Champions League, they have fought back to reach the next round - against Wolfsburg in 2015-26 and in 2021-22 against both Paris St-Germain and Manchester City.

But Arsenal can take belief from the fact that this is the joint-largest deficit Madrid have ever trailed by heading into a Champions League second leg.

The last time they faced such a task was against Borussia Dortmund in the 2012-13 semi-final, when Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Jurgen Klopp's side in Germany.

Real did win the return match 2-0 in Madrid, but Dortmund progressed to the final on aggregate.

In fact, the only time they have fought back from three goals down after a first leg came in their last 16 meeting with Derby County in the 1975-76 edition of the European Cup, winning 6-5 on aggregate following a 4-1 defeat at the Baseball Ground.

A deficit of three goals or more has been overturned just four times since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992.

One team have overturned a four goal-deficit - Barcelona in the game christened 'La Remontada' in 2016-17, when they beat PSG 6-1 at the Nou Camp.

Stats company Opta gives Arsenal an 89.7% chance of progressing to the semi-finals, and Real have lost five games in the competition this season - a tally that equals a club record.

Read the full match preview here

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Former Arsenal defender Matt Upson believes Real Madrid are capable of staging a comeback in their Champions League quarter-final second leg tie against Arsenal, despite an "excellent" first leg performance from Mikel Arteta's side which saw them open up a three-goal lead.

"A Real Madrid comeback has been a lot of the chat around this game, hasn't it?" Upson told BBC Radio 5 Live. "At the end of the first leg last week, those were the comments that were coming out straightaway.

"Real Madrid aren't out of this. Even Jude Bellingham was alluding to the fact that the expectation is still on the Real Madrid players in his press conference - and that is because that is the belief this club has.

"Real Madrid have those sorts of players that can turn things around and it will be something that Arsenal will have to cope with.

"I thought Arsenal were excellent in the first leg. They controlled a lot of the game, they had plenty of possession and they limited Real Madrid to a few chances.

"Now whether they can turn up this evening at the Bernabeu and actually bring that same aura, I think that will be the challenge.

"It's about having a plan in your mind, doing the simple things well, maintaining that focus and keeping calm."

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Arsenal's players "want to create our own history" when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, says goalkeeper David Raya.

The Gunners' impressive display in the first leg means they take a 3-0 lead to the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Much of the talk from defending champions Real Madrid in the build-up has been about their belief that they can stage a historic comeback to turn the tie around.

However, Raya has insisted the mindset in the Arsenal camp is about their own history as they look to reach the semi-finals of the competition for just the third time.

"We have the momentum, I think. The way we played, the way we faced them in the first leg was incredible from everyone," he said.

"We want to create our own history. Coming here to win the game, that is the most important thing.

"That [noise] is something we can't control. We cant think about that.

"We just have to think about ourselves and what we can control on the pitch - the ball, playing the same way as we did in the first game, creating chances and scoring goals.

"We know we have a lead but we come here to win the game."

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Arsenal have touched down in Madrid for their Champions League quarter-final second leg needing to protect their three-goal lead to seal a spot in the semi-finals against Paris St-Germain.

Mikel Arteta's side are now the only English team left in the competition, after Aston Villa were knocked out by PSG on Tuesday, so all eyes will be on this mouth-watering encounter at the Bernabeu.

If you are one of the lucky 3,875 travelling fans, we want to hear from you about how you're building up to the huge game.

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Atletico Madrid are interested in re-signing Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey this summer. (Marca - in Spanish), external

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has told the club's board that he wants to keep their best players this summer, including 25-year-old Sweden striker Alexander Isak, who has been linked with Arsenal. (Teamtalk), external

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Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Manager Mikel Arteta and goalkeeper David Raya have spoken to the media before Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid.

Raya spoke about how Arsenal want to "create their own history" and that the Gunners will go to the Santiago Bernabeu to win the match, even though they have a three-goal lead from the first leg.

That lead is significant as Arsenal have not conceded three goals in a match for 472 days, which was in a Premier League match with Luton - a game that Arsenal won 4-3.

It was a stat that Arteta himself brought up.

There has been talk in the Spanish media about how Real Madrid can use the emotion in the stadium and their success in the competition to complete an unlikely turnaround.

Madrid have won the competition 15 times and Jude Bellingham described the game with Arsenal as a "night made for Madrid".

Arteta said Arsenal do not fear Madrid but he has "respect and admiration for what they have done in the competition over the years".

The Gunners boss was very calm as he took answers in both English and Spanish and that calmness will need to rub off on his players on Wednesday if they are to reach just their third Champions League semi-final in the club's history.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid (kick-off 20:00 BST).

The Gunners won the first leg 3-0 at Emirates Stadium last week.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There is "positive news" on defender Ben White, who has trained on Tuesday and will be in the squad. Thomas Partey will also be available, however, Jorginho has not recovered from the injury he picked up in their most recent match.

• On their approach to the game: "To win it. The same as we did in London. Our preparation has been the things we have to do, we have to dominate in different phases to give us the best chance to win the game - that is our mindset and that is what we have to do."

• Arteta said Real Madrid "have the right" to talk about a historic comeback, but his side's scenario is "very different" so their "mindset, preparation and thoughts are on how we are going to have best chance to be better than them in aspects that are crucial".

• On his message to the players of creating their own history: "When you have to create a story, build a story, first you have to excited about it. Be really prepared about it, then really convinced on what you want to achieve, then going step by step. A lot of clubs have built history by doing this many times... last year we had experience and this season we want to be better and apply that and get to the semi-finals for only the third time in history of our football club."

• From the "emotional aspect", the Arsenal boss has "a lot of reassurance" from what his team have done this season to be "convinced we can handle any situation and we are going to enjoy any kind of game that we are thrown".

• On if he senses any nerves from his players before this match: "I think it is excitement. When we talk about creating that history, yes, we have never won the competition and we are trying to do that consistently so we can start to dominate a European competition. But, we have to earn the right tomorrow to do it."

• On whether Declan Rice has been practising his free-kicks after scoring two in the first leg: "Yes he has and if he can create any more of those moments that would be amazing."

• He added: "He is creating the story with us. That moment is going to be in our history for a while. The way he did it, the manner he did it, that he did it twice is very, very rare... I think he is going to have the belief that he can create more of those moments for us."

Listen to live commentary of Real Madrid v Arsenal on BBC Sounds from 20:00 BST on Wednesday