William Saliba, a defender for Arsenal, is hopeful that his team can win the Champions League for the first time after reaching the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Gunner secured a statement 9-3 aggregate win over PSV in two legs, after thrashing the Dutch club 7-1 away and settling for a 2-2 draw at home on Wednesday.
This marks Arsenal’s second consecutive appearance in the last eight of the competition. They lost 3-2 overall to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the previous season. In the quarterfinals this year, they will take on Real Madrid, the current champions. Despite Arsenal’s lack of a Champions League title and their last appearance in the final dating back to 2006, Saliba believes the open nature of this season’s competition gives the Gunners a chance to surprise everyone.
Saliba told the club’s media they believe winning the ultimate is an attainable feat.
The Champions League is the goal for everyone. It is really hard to win. We all believe we can do it.
Only Arsenal and Aston Villa remain in the competition, making them the only English teams left. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Borussia Dortmund are the remaining teams that are competing for the prestigious trophy. Barcelona, who finished second in the league phase easily defeated Benfica and now have to face Borussia Dortmund in the last eight.
Bayern Munich are set to take on the competition’s best defensive side this campaign in Inter Milan for a semi-final spot.
Meanwhile, the resurgent Aston Villa team under Unai Emery must contend with PSG, who eliminated league champion Liverpool via penalty shootout.