Coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his colleague Mikel Arteta for building a comprehensive team, before Real's match against Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Since replacing Unai Emery in December 2019, Arteta has led Arsenal in 279 games, losing 63, drawing 52 and winning 164 - a ratio of 58.78%. The Spaniard has won three trophies: the Community Shield in 2020 and 2023 and the FA Cup in 2019-20.
He also brought Arsenal back to the Champions League after seven years and competed with Man City for the Premier League title in the last two seasons but finished second. This season, his team continued to finish second behind Liverpool.
In a press conference before the match at the Emirates on April 7, Ancelotti said he had been following Arteta's progress. When he led Everton (2019-2021), his Spanish colleague also took charge at the Emirates. The Italian coach praised Arteta for doing a great job at the moment, turning Arsenal into a top club in Europe.
"Arteta builds a complete team," Ancelotti said. "In my opinion, there are not many complete clubs in Europe. There are many clubs that do certain things well, but there are not many teams that do everything as well as Arsenal. They are stronger than in the past and will be stronger in the future. Obviously, Arteta is doing his job in a great way."
Ancelotti then said he appreciated Arsenal's free-kicks. Since the start of the 2023-2024 season, the Emirates Stadium team has scored 30 goals from set pieces. Mikel Merino's header in the 1-0 win over Chelsea last month was their 11th from a corner this season. But the Gunners will be without Gabriel Magalhaes - who has scored 14 of their 16 goals from corners - for the rest of the campaign.
"Arsenal are very dangerous from set pieces," said Ancelotti. "We will try to defend as well as possible, and also to be able to cause damage from dead-ball situations. That is a very important aspect of football."
Also attending the press conference was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who said: "The first thing is not to give Arsenal too many corners. It is a matter of concentration, but sometimes the quality of the opponent also plays a role. If the ball is crossed perfectly, it is difficult to defend. But we are ready, we believe that what we have prepared will work."