German defender of Sierra Leonean descent, Antonio Rudiger, has admitted that Real Madrid’s Uefa Champions League encounter against Arsenal in the quarter-final will be tough.
He is, however, confident that Los Blancos have what it takes to overcome the English outfit at the end of the two legs to advance to the semi-final of the tournament.
“When you’re playing, you don’t really focus on whether it’s an English team or, say, an Italian one. You have your game plan, and you try to stick to it. But we know English teams are very strong physically and they run a lot. Arsenal also have a great coach in Mikel Arteta, and they play good football.
“Still, our game plan remains the same. We’re not overthinking the fact we’re playing Arsenal. Of course, we need to understand what their strengths are, but in the end, it’s up to us — whether we give 100% to win the game. We’ve had experience in playoff matches like this against strong opponents such as Arsenal, especially when the first leg is away… We’re looking forward to it. We know it won’t be easy, but we want to play to move on to the next round,” Antonio Rudiger said in a pre-match interview.
The first leg of the quarter-final tie between Real Madrid and Arsenal will be played at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, April 8.
