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A three-goal buffer against any other European team and Arsenal would be forgiven for believing they had one foot in the Champions League semi-finals. But against Real Madrid? Well, Gunners great Martin Keown knows his former club would be foolish to spend so much as a second pondering about a semi-finals berth. "If it was any other team, you'd say, 'Yeah, okay, fantastic opportunity, '" Keown told talk SPORT. com ahead of the second leg on Wednesday, live on talk SPORT. "Which it is, but Real Madrid are a proud champion of this tournament. They've won it 15 times now. " It doesn't help the English giants' case that they are stepping into the Santiago Bernabeu, a venue that promises to be a vociferous cauldron of ear-splitting whistles whenever an Arsenal player touches the ball. Even though Madrid have a three-goal mountain to climb - and that's just to take the contest to extra time - Keown knows the entire game could be decided in what promises to be frenetic opening. "You are walking into the lion's den, " Keown said. "They (Arsenal) should be relishing this opportunity. What you don't want is a nervy first 15-20 minutes. "You want to play the game in 15-minute segments and keep the crowd as quiet as you can. Try and show a little bit on the break because you're going to see a lot of possession for Real Madrid, which is something Arsenal normally try and dictate. "The first half is really key to this football match. " For Arsenal to weather what promises to be a relentless storm in the first half, all of their stars will need to rise to the occasion. Captain Martin Odegaard, who joined Los Blancos in a high-profile transfer aged 16, is one. Keown has backed the Norwegian to be Arsenal's 'go-to player to pull the strings' on Wednesday. It won't be an easy task given he will be under constant harassment for the entire 90 minutes from Aurelien Tchouameni. Bukayo Saka is another player Keown has tipped to be a difference-maker. The first leg marked Saka's first start since December 21 having been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Keown feels the winger was 'magnificent' last Tuesday as he proved to be a real handful for Madrid left-back David Alaba. However, it is another forward who Keown believed will have the final say on Arsenal's European aspirations this season. "I have a little feeling about [Gabriel] Martinelli, that he might be the player, perhaps on the break, that moves into a more central position and frees up his game and scores the necessary goals, " Keown said. "I think Martinelli still has gears to go in his game. I saw his best performance against Fulham. "And he needs to be even better against Real Madrid. " In the first leg, Martinelli came up against Fede Valverde, a midfielder who was forced to deputise at right-back. However, Valverde appears likely to slot into his usual midfield role given Eduardo Camavinga will miss the tie due to suspension. It opens the door for Lucas Vasquez to slot in at right-back, posing an entirely different match-up for Martinelli. Another key storyline will be how Arsenal's defenders fare against superstar striker Kylian Mbappe for a second time. The Frenchman spurned a golden chance at 0-0 on the half-hour mark in the first leg when he was played in behind Arsenal's defensive line by Jude Bellingham, only to send his shot directly at David Raya. It was a darting run Gunners centre-back duo William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior would have studied in the lead-up, but were powerless to stop. Mbappe's frustration at failing to score against Arsenal seemed to carry over into Madrid's La Liga fixture on Sunday when he was sent off in the first half for an ugly challenge on Alaves' Antonio Blanco. With Mbappe evidently charged up, Keown believes Saliba and Kiwior must be wary for the threat the Frenchman will pose. "I think it's one of those where there's still anger there, " Keown said. "Things are starting to change. The second half of the season, he's (Mbappe) been way better. And you look at their front three with Rodrygo and Vinicius, that's a lot of pace. Mbappe comes alive. "So I don' think you can switch off for one minute. He's (Mbappe) still brand new at Real Madrid and he will want to be the difference. "So he's the player you fear the most, but you have to stop him. " Saliba and Kiwior proved they can stop Mbappe once already. Do it again and the Gunners will reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 16 years. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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