Carlo Ancelotti Wants Arsenal 'Remontada': What Spanish word means and how Real Madrid plan to beat Gunners

Arsenal saw three points slip against Brentford at the Emirates Stadium but the Gunners wont’ dwell on that result ahead of a huge week of Champions League action with the quarter final second leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

The Gunners pulled off an unforgettable 3-0 home win last week and go into the reverse fixture as surprise favourites. However, Real Madrid have won the Champions League a record 15 times and nothing is impossible for the Spanish titans.

That’s certainly the belief adopted by Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has pointed to a very specific Spanish word ahead of Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti wants Real Madrid ‘Remontada’

The Spanish word ‘remontada’ has become well-coined in the world of football. The word literally translates to ‘recovery’ or ‘fightback’ and is used when a team comes back from a deficit in a fixture, just as Real Madrid will have to do against Arsenal.

The popularity of the work skyrocketed following Barcelona’s famous comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in 2017. The Catalans side were 4-0 down going into the second leg but turned it around in front of a home crowd, securing a 6-1 win to finish as 6-5 winners on the aggregate score.

Using the word this week, Ancelotti said: “Remontada? We will try. It happened many times. We will try until the last minute.”

Real Madrid hope to use Bernabeu to beat Arsenal

Speaking ahead of this week’s second leg, Ancelotti also warned Arsenal not to be complacent despite their 3-0 lead going into the match in Spain. The Real Madrid head coach has remained staunch in his belief that the club can pull of another famous European night at the Bernabeu.

He said: "I want to see a Real Madrid that's capable of recovering its sensations, that's positive. Everyone's thinking about Wednesday's game, but Wednesday's game will undoubtedly depend on the performance we have to put in tomorrow's match [La Liga clash v Alaves on Sunday].

"We'll try (to come back). Real Madrid is the only team that's had this happen to it so many times, but we'll try again. We know when our fans can help us at our stadium; we've done it many times, and we'll try again. We'll try until the last minute and until the last ball, starting tomorrow."

Mikel Arteta aware of Champions League challenge ahead

Even after that euphoric win under the lights at the Emirates Stadium last week, Mikel Arteta kept his feet firmly on the ground knowing what can happen at the Bernabeu when Champions League action comes to town.

Speaking in his post match press conference, Arteta said: “We're going to enjoy the win, because we feel we deserve to do that, but we know it's just half-time, and we're going to have to be even better in Madrid to go through.

“They were talking about it immediately [the second leg]. You know, great, enjoy it, and now let's prepare for Saturday very well, and then we'll have the time to prepare for the next challenge in Madrid. But they are all very excited.

“You have to continue to make steps, and tonight we have won in the right direction. Now it’s half-time, and now we have to go to the Bernabeu and we're going to have to elevate the level again to be the team that we want to be there, and to prepare the game to win it.”

In other news, Arsenal FA Cup winner sends Bukayo Saka warning and opens up on 'happy' exit.