Mikel Merino confident Arsenal will be close to winning Champions League

Mikel Merino believes Arsenal could be on the brink of winning the Champions League following their record-breaking 7-1 demolition job of PSV Eindhoven.

The previously goal-shy Gunners ran riot in the opening leg of their last-16 tie in the Netherlands on Tuesday to all but secure their place in the quarter-finals, where Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid await.

Mikel Arteta’s side became the first team in Champions League history to score seven away from home in a knockout tie, with the result also Arsenal’s biggest on their travels in the competition.

It marked a remarkable change in fortunes for Arsenal who have fallen 13 points behind Liverpool in the race for the Premier League after they failed to score in their last two matches, collecting just one point.

Changing the narrative. pic.twitter.com/LcXZbh851t

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 5, 2025

“I guess that whenever you start a competition like this, if you don’t think that you can win it, it’s better not to come and play,” said Merino, who scored his side’s third of a pulsating night at the Philips Stadion.

“It has to be the goal of every single team in this tournament, and it is ours, for sure.

“We are here to win, to win every single game, and if we do what we know we can do, in the end, we will be close to winning it.

“But we don’t have to focus too much about it. We have to be proud, but at the same time think about the next game. It is coming real soon and we need to show the same mentality that we did tonight.”

Arsenal’s goal blitz on the grandest stage is even more impressive considering that they continue to operate without a recognised striker following season-ending injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are also sidelined