Arsenal Must Be Ready To Sacrifice Lives For Champions League Final

Arsenal is optimistic that they can turn things around against Paris Saint-Germain (Instagram/@arsenal).

JAKARTA - Mikel Arteta said Arsenal must be ready to sacrifice their lives to reach the Champions League final.

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in their semifinal second leg on Thursday, May 8, 2025, early morning WIB, where they will try to reverse the 0-1 deficit and reach the second Champions League final in their history.

In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Arteta talked about his anticipation ahead of the match at the Parc des Princes.

"The excitement, goosebumps, wanting that day to arrive soon, (feelings) are very ready, very confident and know that the chance is to play in the Champions (League) final."

"When you reach that point, you have to sacrifice your life for that," Arteta said.

The north London team will be fueled by the return of midfielder Thomas Partey for a trip to Paris after he missed the first leg due to suspension. However, they remain without a number of first-team stars due to long-term injuries.

So much pressure on substitutes for the first leg that Arteta had to field four academy players on the bench, one of whom had only appeared once in the Premier League this season.

"Look, when I passed the aisle, I saw (Takehiro) Tomiyasu out, (Riccardo) Calafiori out, Gabriel Magalhaes out, Kai Havertz out, Gabriel Jesus out, Thomas Partey out, Jorginho out. First player!"

"I saw the team compete and I had goosebumps. We had a lot of advantages. The game was just a very, very, very small margin that didn't benefit us that day. That's why I'm so optimistic," Arteta said when asked about his frustration at shrinking squad.