Mikel Arteta has told his Arsenal players to not be weighed down by the pressure on their shoulders as they bid to make history against Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal are hosting PSG on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Arteta believes the game is one of biggest since Emirates Stadium was opened in 2006 and he has called on Gunners fans to create a “special” atmosphere.
Arsenal have never won the Champions League and they were last in the semi-finals of the competition 16 years ago.
Arteta has admitted his squad can feel the weight of history on their shoulders, but he has urged them to channel that into a positive.
“You sense the energy, the enthusiasm, that it’s something unique,” he said. “Probably one of the biggest games that the Emirates has seen since we built it.
“We are making history. It’s a beautiful story right now, but we want much more. I mean, we are here to make people happy, to create history and we are very close and now we have to take the opportunity and make it happen.
“You feel it (the weight of history), especially because we have, fortunately, a lot of people that have worked in the club for many, many years, and they’ve never been in this position.
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We are making history. It’s a beautiful story right now, but we want much more
Mikel Arteta
“So that tells you how unique and beautiful it is. It’s the nicest competition for any European club. We’ve never done it, so we need to earn the right to be in that final, and everything is going to start tomorrow.
“We have to have the feeling that we have to hold them (the players) back tomorrow to go on that pitch and express themselves.
“It’s a moment now to say: ‘Okay, this is who we are, this is who we are as a team, this is who I am as an individual and I’m going to put my very best in there to make it happen’.
“Play with that mindset and let yourself go. Live the now, the present. This is where we are. We are so fortunate.
“We put so much into it to be in the position that we are. We earn it with our work, with our enthusiasm, because we face a lot of challenges and we managed to compete at the highest level for ten months.
“So we earn it now. Be present and live the moment. It’s a beautiful moment. Let’s live it and let’s enjoy it."
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal supporters to create another special atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arteta is hoping for a raucous atmosphere at the Emirates on Tuesday night after the one that was created when Arsenal hosted Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
The Spaniard hailed that as one of the best nights since the Emirates was opened in 2006, but he wants to better that against PSG.
“Tomorrow, more,” he said. “I told them (the Arsenal fans), and I’m not exaggerating, when I said: ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your t-shirts, and let’s play every ball together’.
“We want to do something special. That place has to be something special, something that we haven’t seen.
“And I really hope that everybody that comes tomorrow to the Emirates and is watching and following us, it brings that energy with them.”
