Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe and teammates trains at the Emirates stadium ahead of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg against Arsenal.
Image: Adrian Dennis / AFP
With the Champions League quarter-finals set to get underway, Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit has backed Real Madrid to win a 16th title despite their early season wobble.
Real Madrid had to qualify for the last eight via the back door after failing to get outright qualification for the last 16. They then won a playoff against Manchester City before controversially getting past neighbours Atletico Madrid to progress to the quarters.
Now Los Blancos take on Arsenal, with the first of their two legged quarter-final being played at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The Champions League represents Arsenal's best chance of a trophy this season, with the Gunners 11 points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League.
Arsenal were beaten at the same stage last season by Bayern Munich, but they are ready to come out all guns blazing, with their manager Mikel Arteta keen to emphasise the magnitude of the occasion.
"It is 100 percent the biggest night of my career," Arteta, in charge at the Emirates since 2019, told reporters on Monday. "That's why I came into football, and that's why I came into management and especially to this football club."
"The excitement around the club, the people, and the magnitude of this match. This is the stage we want to be at, and where Arsenal has to be consistently. We are very proud to be there, and now be very ready tomorrow to deliver.
"At 8:00 pm (9pm SA time) Tuesday night, 11 players, 60,000 fans, I am really super-convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That's the mindset that I want.”
Gullit, however, says Real Madrid always seems to find a way to get the job done, despite struggling to get going in the earlier rounds.
“Real Madrid have done something that a lot of clubs have not been able to do and win the Champions League 15 times,” Gullit said during a Laureus World Sports Awards press briefing.
“If you look at them early in the season, it looked like they were going out of the Champions League. Now they are competing to win it.
"They always find a way.”
But Gullit and fellow Laureus academy member Marcel Desailly also like the look of Paris Saint Germain following their shock win over Liverpool in the round of 16.
PSG wrapped up Ligue 1 over the weekend and will now shift their attention to their quarter-final clash against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
“PSG could be a surprise - they’ve impressed me with their young squad and the style of football they play. It would be fantastic to see them go far,” Gullit said.
Former France World Cup winner Desailly says PSG playing as a team rather than relying on individual brilliance has been the hallmark of their campaign.
“They’ve grown. It’s not just a team of stars now. Before, it was like ‘let’s just give the ball to Neymar or (Kylian) Mbappé’. Now it’s more structured, more balanced,” Desailly said.
“They remind me a bit of Arsenal’s Invincibles. Control, confidence, movement in every area of the pitch. If they stay humble and focused, they can go very far this year.”
* The 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards will take place in Madrid at the end of April. Marcel Desailly and Rudd Gullit are proud members of the Laureus Academy.
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