Mikel Arteta has told his players to change Arsenal’s European history with a new chapter in the Champions League.
Arsenal have not reached the semi-finals since 2009 and have a big chance to progress against six-time winners Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena. It could be seen as an uphill task after a 2-2 draw in the quarter-final first leg and then a disappointing defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday which has damaged their title hopes.
But Arteta says he believes Arsenal can see off Bayern and has no fears about any hangover as they head into a defining week in their season. Gunners boss Arteta said: “We have to change it. There’s a lot of things we can do there to write that story differently [against Bayern]. It’s about earning the right collectively and individually.
“We want a performance that puts us in the Champions League semi-final. The prep has been to achieve that. We have earned it for 10 months and everything we did last season. We have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen.
“Most of our players haven’t experienced a night like this. They’re super motivated. They’re prepared and they feel confident. We want to make it happen. It would be unbelievable.
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“If we make it happen and we’re in the semi-final, we’ll be in a really high emotional state with something that we haven’t achieved in 15 years and that’s the opportunity.”
Arteta, whose side face Wolves on Saturday night just 72 hours after their Bayern trip, insists that his players can put the setbacks behind them. The Gunners were flat after the Villa defeat but Arteta says that will not dampen the mood against Bayern.
Arteta added: “Throw the game away, the one that we played a few days ago, because regardless of that result, it is going to have no impact on what’s going to happen.
“Refocus and start to build the confidence, the trust and understanding the performance that we are going to have to put in to beat them and go through in the tie.”
Arteta also dismissed any notion that history is coming back to haunt them again after Manchester City usurped them last year and look capable of doing it again. The Spaniard added: “I cannot control that. I cannot take their phones and TVs away or the people around them.
"We didn’t lose anything last year because we didn’t win anything. First of all you have to win it and then you can lose it. What we had was an unbelievable journey against the best team in the world here and in Europe in the last seven years and this is where we want to be.
"We are not satisfied and we want to be better and that’s the level we are competing with. We will try our best again until the last day to win those cups and be successful.”
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