Mikel Arteta dismissed Arsenal’s past shortcomings in the Champions League knockout stages as “irrelevant” and urged his players to forge their own path towards a dream final at Wembley.
The Gunners are set to take on FC Porto at Estadio do Dragao in the first leg of the round-of-16 clash on Tuesday, aiming to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
Arsenal endured seven consecutive exits at the last-16 stage between 2011 and 2017, with Arteta himself involved in five of those defeats.
However, the Spaniard emphasised that the past does not define the present, especially as the club did not even qualify for the competition again until this season.
Only Mohamed Elneny remains from the squad that lost 10-2 on aggregate to Bayern in 2017 and Arteta said: “The players know that we have not been in the competition for seven years, obviously as some of them were here and they know the story.
“And they know that what happened in the past is irrelevant. It is the challenge and ambition that we have now to go through.
Someone called [Lionel] Messi was another obstacle [in those years] for Bayern Munich, that we faced three times.
“This competition is what it is. Individual quality is extremely important. It comes down to details and you need your players at their best when the occasion arises. Tomorrow, for sure, we’ll need that.
“We don’t have the experience; that’s the reality. Ninety-five percent of these players haven’t played in this competition, they haven’t played in the last 16; I haven’t [managed in this stage]. But they have so much energy and enthusiasm to play well and that’s our desire and how we’re going to play the game.”
Arsenal finished at the top of Group B, winning four out of six matches. Despite their relative lack of experience, the Gunners are viewed as favourites to advance against Porto, who suffered defeats both at home and away against Barcelona during their group stage.
When questioned about whether winning the competition should be seen as the ultimate achievement in European club football, Arteta pointed out the potential opportunity to play in this year’s final, which is scheduled to take place in London.
“I don’t know if it is the best [competition],” he said. “But it should be incredible to have that feeling to lift that cup, in London — the first of June.
“It is there. It is in our minds. It is a dream but there are a lot of things you have to earn the right to do before that and tomorrow we have a big obstacle ahead of us. We are really looking forward to it.”
Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu have all stayed back in London, but Fabio Vieira has been included in the travelling party as he nears a return following groyne surgery in November.