Mikel Arteta has urged his players to give their lives to reach the Champions League final as Arsenal prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain this week.
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Gunners 1-0 down from first legFace PSG in French capitalArteta urges players to give everythingFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Arteta's Arsenal head to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday as they bid to turn around a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in north London. The Gunners will have Thomas Partey back but will be without a host of first-team starters, including Gabriel, Kai Havertz and Jorginho, but Arteta remains optimistic.
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The Gunners boss says he is "convinced" by the quality of his team but has told his players they must "give their lives" if they want to reach a first Champions League final since 2006. The Premier League side have never won Europe's premier club competition.
WHAT MIKEL ARTETA SAID
Arteta told : "Excitement, goosebumps, wanting the day to arrive, [the feeling] of being very prepared, very convinced and knowing that the opportunity is to play in a Champions [League] final. And when you get to that point, you have to give your life for it."
Speaking about the first leg, he added: "Look, when I was going through the tunnel, I see [Takehiro] Tomiyasu out, [Riccardo] Calafiori out, Gabriel Magalhaes out, Kai Havertz out, Gabriel Jesus out, Thomas Partey out, Jorginho out. Starters!
"And I see the team compete and I get goosebumps. Because we have a lot of merit and yet the game was by very, very, very small margins that weren't on our side that day. That's why I'm very optimistic."
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Arsenal play PSG on Wednesday and will hope to heed Arteta's words. Otherwise, they face yet more European disappointment.