Arsenal aiming to rewrite UEFA Champions League history

New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta urged his side to rewrite UEFA Champions League history as they begin their campaign on Tuesday. Arsenal has never won the UCL trophy; their last appearance in the finals of the tournament came in 2006 against FC Barcelona.

"Well that tells you, with our long history, how difficult it is because we haven't won it yet and that's the opportunity. That's how I see it, but pressure is the opportunity that drives that energy and that willingness to be better every single day. Every decision has to be with that standard and with those expectations, so let's give our best chance to try to do it.

"The big clubs (who have won it), they try seven, eight, nine times and they maybe win two. So in this competition it's going to be one that you fail much more than you succeed. That's the nature of it. That's the history of our club and that's what we want to change," said Arteta in the pre-game conference.

Arteta has given an update on the fitness of Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Bukayo Saka ahead of the match against Athletic Club.

Arsenal’s skipper suffered a shoulder injury in their 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest and was substituted for Ethan Nwaneri after 18 minutes. Ben hasn't featured since starting at Old Trafford on August 17, with Bukayo going off against Leeds United on August 23.

The Spaniard spoke with the media in Bilbao ahead of the clash at San Mames. He said, "Gabi, Kai, Ben and Martin are still out, unfortunately."

On Saka's fitness, Arteta added, "No, I think there are still quite a lot of things to go through. It’s very early to understand when and which week he’s going to be available. But he will certainly be pushing to be available as quickly as possible."

--IANS

aaa/bc