Mikel Arteta and Ferland Mendy (Photo by Carl Recine, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Arsenal may have been handed some positive news ahead of their exciting Champions League tie with Real Madrid next month.
Los Blancos just edged past Atletico Madrid on penalties last night to book their place in the quarter-finals, where they’ll take on the Gunners for the first time since 2006.
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Real are the reigning European champions, so will surely be the favourites to progress through this tie, but they could be sweating over the fitness of one key player.
As reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano on X, Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy now requires tests after some muscle discomfort, so this could be one to watch if it turns out to be something serious…
? Ferland Mendy has suffered a muscle discomfort and will undergo tests in the upcoming hours, Ancelotti confirms. pic.twitter.com/KwXe68QK2f
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 13, 2025
Mendy is an important part of Carlo Ancelotti’s back four, and that could deal Madrid a big blow if he’s unable to make it back for the Arsenal game.
Mikel Arteta will also hope to have both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli back by then, so that could mean things finally going Arsenal’s way a bit more in terms of luck with injuries.
It’s been a disappointing campaign for the north London giants, but they’ve so often found themselves without key players, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both out until the end of the season, while other important figures like Martin Odegaard and Ben White have also missed a lot of games.
Can Arsenal get past Real Madrid?
Arsenal fans will be excited to be involved in such a glamour tie in Europe, and they can perhaps take heart from the fact that the club has never lost to Real in a competitive game.
These teams have only met twice before, with Arsenal winning 1-0 at the Bernabeu and drawing 0-0 at Highbury back in the 2005/06 campaign.
That makeshift Arsenal side also had a lot of injuries but defied the odds to make it to the Champions League final that season, losing 2-1 to Barcelona in Paris.
With the Premier League title race surely over for this season, could Arsenal benefit from being able to focus solely on Europe?
