EXCLUSIVE | ‘People think it’s going to be a failed season’ – Jérémie Aliadière previews Real Madrid-Arsenal

Jérémie Aliadière sat down with Get French Football News to examine his former team, Arsenal, following their 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. 

What have you made of Kylian Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid so far? 

It’s all related to Real Madrid’s results. At the moment, they’re second in La Liga behind Barcelona – Barcelona are having an unreal season – and lost last week at the Emirates 3-0. Obviously, it’ll make people look at Real Madrid and think it’s going be a failed season if they don’t get through [the quarter-final against Arsenal]. So people will look straight away at Mbappé because he’s the big name that arrived in the summer. But I want to say, people forget that you need to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new style of play. And I think in terms of numbers [Mbappé’s are good], I saw not that long ago he was being compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s first season at Real Madrid, and his numbers are much better than Ronaldo’s. So he’s having a great season; it’s just unfortunate that he might need a bit of time to adjust to playing with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Junior, or  Rodrygo. He maybe just needs this season to adjust. I still feel it’s been a very positive and good season for him. 

There’s a sense, at least in the Champions League, that his partnership with Vincius Jr. hasn’t quite worked out. Is that a fair assessment? 

Yeah, I think so. I think it’s fair to say. I think they are both very similar players. They like to go into similar areas, they like to have the ball and take a player on. I feel that sometimes they’re on each other’s toes, and they get in each other’s way. I just think it’s a shame to have such great players and not be able to play together. You know we saw Kylian Mbappé at Paris Saint-Germain with Neymar and Lionel Messi. In some games, you could see some brilliant chemistry between them, and then in others, they didn’t pass to each other and didn’t really get on. I don’t think it’s personal; it’s just the style of play that might not match at the moment, but I’m sure that they’re very clever players and they’ll work it out. You can’t have such great talents, two of the best players in the world, and not be able to play with each other. 

Were you surprised by the Arsenal-Real Madrid scoreline last week? 

Yes, I was surprised. I must say. I’ve never seen an atmosphere like that at the Emirates, or even at Highbury back in the day. The atmosphere was incredible, and I think from the first minute, the players did feel it was going to be a special night. The fans pushed the team, and the players just responded. I still think that it was written; you know, it was one of those nights where everything goes your way. Let’s be honest; two free kicks like that don’t happen very often, and from a player who has never scored a free kick in his life. If you take those two exceptional free kicks, you might not see ever again, it’s only 1-0. I know Thibaut Courtois made some incredible saves, especially in the first half. It could have been a different game, but it happened to be a special game for Arsenal, and everything went their way, which might be completely the opposite on Wednesday, and it might be a completely different result, but that’s why I was surprised. Obviously, an amazing result and night, and now you’ve got to finish the job at the Bernabéu. 

It’s difficult to predict the future, but what do you think might happen at the Bernabéu?

I’ve got two scenarios in my head. If Arsenal don’t concede in the first 25 minutes, then they could actually go and get a result in terms of not losing. I feel Real Madrid would then start pushing even more, as they know they’ve got to score three goals minimum, which will open some space for Arsenal in a counter-attack to go and explore and score. That’s one scenario, which will be the best one for me. But the second one could be that Madrid score early on, and then it could be a very very tough tie for Arsenal to not completely explode with the pressure of the stadium, the supporters, and the unbelievable talent that Madrid have got going forward. If it clicks [for Madrid] and goes their way, it could be a very incredible evening for them. 

If Arsenal win this tie, should they be considered favourites for the competition?

Favourites, I’m not sure. When you think of Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain. I watched PSG’s tie against Liverpool. My god! How they didn’t beat Liverpool at the Parc des Princes three or four nil, I’ll never understand. They were so good. I think PSG are a very good contender. So is Barcelona. So is Inter Milan, who we don’t talk too much about, but they went to Bayern Munich and won 2-1 there. Maybe the most impressive result was Arsenal-Madrid, the way they won 3-0 at the Emirates. Everybody starts thinking about Arsenal, but football changes from one game to the other. And after Wednesday, it could be a completely different story if Arsenal get a bad result or manage to just get through by one goal, or by a draw, people [might] start thinking different. At the moment, Arsenal are looking very good but lets see what happens on Wednesday. 

How would you compare Mikel Arteta to Arsene Wenger? 

I think Mikel Arteta might be a little more demanding on the touchline. He’s very very involved; he speaks to his players, he demands pressing, he demands hard work. From what I’ve heard, in training every day, there are no days off. You can’t just think, ‘I’m tired, I’ll hide a bit.’ Arsene was a little bit more relaxed. He was a bit more quiet. Not as vocal, maybe. He used to just always speak calmly. I think Mikel is a little bit more energetic. Maybe that’s a little bit the lack of experience in terms of management; Arsene had so many years of management before [Arsenal]. He knew when to speak and what to say. That’s maybe the difference in terms of man management. 

I’ve got to ask before we finish about another of your former teams, Lorient. How happy have you been about the season so far, with the club fighting for an immediate return to Ligue 1? 

Yeah, amazing. I don’t expect anything less. Lorient in Ligue 2 is not where they should be. They should be back in the top flight. It’s a great little club, a family club, well-run, with a style of play. Yeah, they definitely deserve to get back up. I’m looking forward to seeing them back up and back in the top level, playing big games every weekend. 

Jérémie Aliadière was speaking exclusively to GFFN on behalf of NewBettingSites.uk.

GFFN | Nick Hartland