Despite a 3-0 home win over Real Madrid in the first leg, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta made it clear before the game that the Gunners would go to the Bernabeu with the sole goal of winning rather than passively defending.

Last week at the Emirates Stadium, Rice scored two free kicks, plus Mikel Merino's goal, helping Arsenal gain a huge advantage in advancing to the semi-finals. But Real Madrid is full of confidence, and midfielder Bellingham even said at the press conference: "This night is born for Real Madrid to turn the tide."

Arteta remained calm about this, admitting that he could not completely block out the outside world's discussion of Real Madrid's reversal of tradition, but he hoped that the players would welcome this fateful match with excitement rather than fear.

Arteta said in his pre-match press conference: "We will prepare with a winning attitude, just as we did in London, and our preparations focus on the details that must be controlled in every stage of the game to ensure we have the best chance of winning."

"We have to show the will to win, be brave, dominate the game and be determined."

"We have to believe that we can be better than Real Madrid and win the game."

In response to Bellingham's remarks, Arteta expressed his understanding of the opponent's confidence: "They have such a history and are qualified to talk about the reversal scenario. They will definitely try to bring the game into a rhythm and situation that we don't want to face."

But when asked if his players were intimidated by Real Madrid's momentum, he did not hesitate to respond: "I would not use the word 'fear'. We have no fear, only respect."

For Arsenal, this is a great opportunity to write club history. The Gunners have only reached the Champions League semi-finals twice before and have never won this highest honor in Europe. Arteta made no secret of his ambition: "We are excited because we are trying to make history. Looking back at Arsenal's record in Europe, we have not won the Champions League. We want to be a dominant team in Europe, and to achieve this, we must first win the respect we deserve on this big stage tomorrow."