The home dressing room at the Emirates Stadium was built to Arsene Wenger’s specifications, but it is adorned with the language of Mikel Arteta.
There is a treatment area where the walls are emblazoned with words such as “unity” and “trust”. In a corridor, there is a stencil that simply says, “This is our time.”
The key messages are imprinted on the players just before they enter the tunnel. On one wall, a list reads: “Our non-negotiables: discipline, leadership, dominate, compete.” On another, in white lettering on a red background: “Fight until the end.”
(James McNicholas/The Athletic)
It is this mentality that has helped turn the Emirates Stadium into a European fortress (at least for the men’s side — Arsenal’s women’s team lost to Lyon at the Emirates earlier this month and had to overturn the deficit in France yesterday to reach the Champions League final).
As Arteta’s team prepare for their semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain, they are unbeaten in their 11 home Champions League matches since returning to the competition in 2023 after a six-year absence, with an aggregate scoreline of 29 goals to four.
One of those 11 unbeaten games was against Tuesday’s opponents. Arsenal won 2-0 against PSG in the league stage in…
