How to watch Arsenal vs Real Madrid for FREE as Gunners eye crucial win against Bellingham and co in Champions League quarter-final

Arsenal are set for their biggest game of the season this week as they take on Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Gunners thrashed PSV to book their place in the final eight, breaking records in the first leg of their tie by winning 7-1.

Getty

Mikel Arteta’s side will be putting all of their focus into European football now, with the title race in the Premier League all but over with seven games to go. 

But things couldn’t be any more difficult for them as they take on 15-time Champions League winners Real, who always come alive at this stage of the competition. 

A win for Arsenal at home is vital for their chances of progressing, as playing away at the Bernabeu in the second leg usually means anything can happen. 

Arsenal vs Real Madrid: How to watch for FREE

This Champions League quarter-final first leg will take place on Tuesday, April 8, with kick-off at the Emirates scheduled for 8pm. 

Fans can watch the action live on Amazon Prime Video. 

Existing and new Prime members can watch the game via the Prime Video app, across mobile, Fire TV, video game consoles, Virgin’s V6 TV Box, BT TV, TalkTalk TV, Apple TV, Chromecast and online.

For fans who are not already members, you can start a FREE 30-day trial of Amazon Prime giving you access to all of this week’s games. You can sign up here.

Alternatively, new customers can join Amazon Prime for £8.99 per month.

talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will also have live coverage of all the action. 

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Getty

• This will be just the third meeting between Arsenal and Real Madrid in European competition, following their last 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League in 2005-06. Arsenal won 1-0 in the first leg away from home, before drawing 0-0 at Highbury in the second leg (1-0 on aggregate).
• ince the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Real Madrid have played 22 matches against English sides in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (W11 D5 L6). This is 10 more than any other team against sides from a specific nation in this period, after Liverpool and Manchester City’s 12 meetings each with Spanish teams.
• Real Madrid haven’t lost the first leg in any of their last eight knockout stage ties in the UEFA Champions League (W5 D3); their joint-longest run in the competition in first leg meetings, along with another eight-game run between April 2016 and February 2019.

Arsenal vs Real Madrid: Team news

Bukayo Saka could get his first start since December in this huge clash after coming off the bench in the last two Arsenal games. 

That would be a major boost for the Gunners, who are going to need their best players back elsewhere on the pitch with Gabriel missing out. 

The Brazilian has been ruled out for the season and won’t play a part, meaning William Saliba could be partnered by Jakub Kiwior or Ben White instead. 

Captain Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber all started as substitutes at the weekend, so they’ll likely return to the team this week. 

As for Real, Mbappe is among four players who have been cleared to feature in this quarter-final first leg. 

The French superstar, Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos were all under investigation by UEFA after gestures made in the last 16. 

However, they’ve all avoided an immediate ban and can play against Arsenal. 

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sat out of Real’s last LaLiga game but he’s been confirmed to be fit to start in this game already by Carlo Ancelotti. 

• Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé has scored 10 goals in 16 games against English teams in the UEFA Champions League – four of which have come in two matches this season (against Manchester City in the play-off round). The only player to net more knockout stage goals against English sides in a single campaign is Karim Benzema, who scored seven for Real Madrid in 2021-22 (five games).
• The only English player to start in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final while aged 18 or younger is Jude Bellingham (17 v Manchester City in April 2021), while Arsenal pair Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri could become the only players other than Bellingham to do so here (both aged 18)
• Two of the top five-ranked goalkeepers for goals prevented in the UEFA Champions League this season (based on xG on target faced, excluding OGs) could feature here, in the form of Arsenal’s David Raya (+3.7, 5th) and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois (+4, 3rd).

Arsenal vs Real Madrid: What has been said? 

Arteta is ready for a ‘beautiful’ Champions League quarter-final.

He said: “It’s one of the most beautiful games that you can play in football, in the highest European competition, against the team that has dominated that competition in the last 20, 25 years.

“We have to train and prepare a few things, but we’ll have some time to rest and start preparing really well for the game because we’re looking forward to that game.”

On who will play in Gabriel’s place on Tuesday and how he feels about his back four, Arteta added: “We have alternatives there. 

“Today [against Everton], we have players that haven’t played together, so that cohesion hasn’t been there. 

“Ben especially hasn’t played at all almost this season, so it’s good that they have the minutes and that understanding. 

“We will assess what are the best options for that back line.”