On the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg between Arsenal and Real Madrid, Los Blancos’ head coach Carlo Ancelotti addressed the media to share his thoughts on the upcoming clash. The Italian tactician spoke at length about tactical preparation, player fitness, injury setbacks, and the scrutiny surrounding the team.
Ancelotti began by praising Mikel Arteta’s side: “There aren’t many complete teams in Europe. A lot of teams do many things well, but not many are as complete as Arsenal. They press high well, defend deep well, and transition really well. Facing a team like this, we have to be tactically prepared and execute our plan with clarity.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen asked about Real Madrid’s struggles in defending set pieces this season — an area where Arsenal have consistently posed a threat — Ancelotti acknowledged the issue but remained confident.
“We are really strong, really dangerous in this situation. We try to defend as best as we can. We have to take into consideration that when we have set pieces, we can create damage. We will score three goals in the rest of the game on set pieces. So this is an important part of the game, and then there is all the rest,” he said.
Ancelotti admitted that injuries have made squad rotation more difficult this season:
“It’s complicated to always ask for 100%, it’s almost impossible. Because if you give 100% mentally, you cannot give 100% physically. That’s why we’ve had many injuries, and rotation has been more necessary than usual, but also harder to manage.”
He gave the example of Raúl Asencio: “The other day, we had to rest Asencio because he was really exhausted after the match against Real Sociedad.”
Despite the challenges, Ancelotti remains optimistic about the team’s condition going into this crucial tie: “That said, physically the team is doing well. Tomorrow, we can play the match with intensity.”
Discussing Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard — who joined Real Madrid as a teenager — Ancelotti had high praise for the Norwegian’s career path:“When he arrived, like I said, he was very young. He didn’t have space in the first team. At the time, we had [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Karim] Benzema, James Rodríguez in front of him, and he couldn’t find the opportunity to show his quality. He decided to go away to get more playing time. Honestly, I think he did the right thing. Now he’s at one of the most important clubs in Europe.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen asked about growing criticism toward him after poor results, Ancelotti was unfazed: “Maybe a lot of people are tired of seeing me on the Real Madrid bench. But for me, what matters is whether the most important person is tired. The key is to be happy, to be convinced, to give support and help—that’s what counts. The rest, those who are tired, it doesn’t bother me.”
He continued: “We’re still competing. Of course, it’s not easy to be at 100% all the time, but we’re in a good place.”
With players like Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modrić, and others at risk of suspension, Ancelotti was asked whether that would change how aggressively Madrid approach the match: “No, we don’t want to change that. We know the risk, but I think if they can’t play the second leg in Madrid, and we don’t have replacements, then of course we’ll miss them. But that doesn’t mean we’ll play with less intensity.”
Ancelotti concluded with a clear focus: “This match is very important — 90 very important minutes — but it’s not decisive, because there’s another 90 minutes to come.”
Real Madrid’s first-leg clash with Arsenal kicks off at 20:00 GMT at the Emirates Stadium.