Mariona Caldentey spoke about how her and the squad manage emotions ahead of Arsenal’s UEFA Women’s Champions League game against Real Madrid tomorrow. 

The Gunners have had an underwhelming block of results, the most recent a goalless North London derby, but they’re hoping the excitement of the UWCL might turn things around. 

Ahead of a must-win game against Real Madrid, Caldentey spoke to The Gooner Fanzine. 

She said: “It’s hard. I think we get really emotional with these games, and when things don’t go your way, it’s hard. 

“But we play every three, four days, so we don’t really have time to think about what happened in the past. 

“Now we play at Borehamwood against Real Madrid, the Champions League game, and then we have international break, so we are really looking forward to that.

“I think we are motivated enough to win that game to show again what football we want to play and what football we can play. 

“So, I think these games you don’t need nothing extra or nothing different, it’s a really exciting game. 

“We have good memories about Real Madrid so we hope we can keep going that way.” 

Whilst Arsenal may have fond memories of playing Las Blancas on home soil, the feeling is most likely not reciprocated. 

Last time Real Madrid visited London, they were knocked out 3-2 on aggregate in the UWCL quarterfinals. 

Renée Slegers spoke to The Gooner about how the Spaniards might prepare for revenge in this fixture. 

She said: “I don’t know how they work, where they find their motivation and drive but I guess the same as us.

“They’ll have watched the game back and maybe the first leg as well, although that pitch was really hard to play on and we have totally different circumstances tomorrow. 

“They will find their motivation and drive and their plan and they’ve definitely watched that game back and they of course weren’t happy with that result and will want to do things differently. 

“So let’s see what they bring and where they find their motivation.”

Mariona Caldentey spoke about what she expects from Real Madrid tomorrow. 

She said: “They have a new coach, and I think when you have a new coach everything changes a bit.

“I think they’ve started really well this season and yeah even in the last game against Barcelona, the score was not really how the game was. 

“They have good individuals, and I think now they are a good team, so it will be hard for sure.” 

Slegers also said she thought the Real Madrid playing style may have shifted a bit. 

She said: “I think their game might be a little bit more open this year so that’s something that we have to prepare for and something we want to organise in a good way. 

“You can see that their key players play in slightly different roles this year compared to last year, so that’s something to look out for.”

The Arsenal boss confirmed there are no new injuries to her squad since Sunday’s game and that Leah Williamson is still progressing well after she was pictured again in team training today. 

Arsenal take on Real Madrid at Meadow Park on Wednesday evening with an 8pm kick off. The match can be watched on Disney+.