Arteta rallies Arsenal to ‘believe’ in Champions League glory

LONDON, England:

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is urging his players to believe they can win the Champions League for the first time because they have already beaten "the best opposition you can face in the competition".

Defeating defending champions Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals -- after victories home and away -- has raised expectations that Arsenal can go all the way.

Arteta acknowledged everyone associated with Arsenal is feeling the weight of history heading into the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain, starting with the first leg at Emirates Stadium today, and he wants his team to embrace that.

Asked whether Arsenal should be classed as the tournament favourite after their displays against Madrid, Arteta said they have "generated enthusiasm and possibilities no one probably expected".

"But when you look at our history -- and you go back to our history -- we have never done it," he said. "So there is so much to do. Hopefully, if someone believes we can do it, it's because of the performances and what the team is transmitting against big opposition."

Arsenal lost the Champions League final to Barcelona in 2006 and in the semi-finals to Manchester United in 2009, and haven't been back to the last four since.

"There's a lot of people working at the club for many, many years and they've never been in this position," Arteta said. "That tells you how unique and beautiful it is. It is the biggest competition, the European Cup, and we've never done it. We need to earn the right to be in that final."

Arteta is taking inspiration from Arsenal reaching the Women's Champions League final for the first time since 2007 after beating record eight-time champions Lyon 4-1 on Sunday.

"It's incredible what they have done," Arteta said. "To achieve it in the manner they have done it, they've shown the road, the pathway, how we can do it."

In a rallying cry, Arteta urged fans to "bring your boots, your shorts, your T-shirts and let's play every ball together" against PSG in the hope of recreating the atmosphere at the Emirates for the first leg against Madrid, which Arsenal won 3-0.

"If we want to do something special," he said, "that place has to be something special that we haven't seen".

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have met just three times in the Champions League and never in the knockout stage. One of those occasions was this season, when Arsenal won 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners will be hoping to reproduce the exploits that saw them beat defending champions Real Madrid in both legs in the quarter-finals.

Their opponents, however, are aiming to eliminate an English opponent for the third straight round, after seeing off Liverpool and -- less impressively -- Aston Villa.

With their "galacticos" -- Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Messi -- long gone, PSG are bidding to win a first Champions League title by going with talented up-and-coming players instead.

-AP