3 talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Arsenal

Arsenal travel to Real Madrid in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday night as they look to protect their big advantage.

The Gunners secured a brilliant victory over the competition's holders last week, cruising to a 3-0 win at Emirates Stadium. Declan Rice put his side two goals to the good with two outstanding free kicks before Mikel Merino put the seal on victory. There was no follow-up win however as Arsenal drew 1-1 with Brentford in their last outing.

As the Gunners look to progress to the semi-finals of Europe's elite competition for only the third time, there are three key talking points ahead of their huge second leg clash with Real Madrid.

1. Good start is crucial

Both Arsenal fans and likely the team know how much of a threat Real Madrid pose at the Santiago Bernabeu and the squad must do their utmost to see that out from kick off.

Los Blancos have scored in all but one of their home games this season, failing to find the back of the net in a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in October, so it wouldn't be ridiculous to assume they will score at least one goal against Mikel Arteta's side.

The Gunners have a solid defence even without Gabriel Magalhaes so if any team is going to keep Madrid out at the Bernabeu, it's them. Coming away from the Spanish capital with a clean sheet would be brilliant but the priority should be to at least not concede early on.

An early goal for Madrid will give them true hope of making a comeback to eliminate Arsenal and with a very intimidating atmosphere behind them, that will be a very real possiblity. As a result, Arteta's side must make a good start to the second leg and make it through the early stages without conceding. If they manage that, they should put themselves on track to go through to the semi-finals.

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