Arsenal winning the Champions League would "elevate" Mikel Arteta to Arsene Wenger and George Graham levels of fame in North London, Gunners legend Nigel Winterburn believes.
Arteta only has one FA Cup and two Community Shields to show for his time at Arsenal so far, but they are on the cusp of reaching the Champions League semi-finals thanks to a stunning 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final battle last week.
The Gunners need only avoid a capitulation at the Bernabeu on Wednesday to move one step closer to that elusive European Cup title, which Wenger never managed to lead them to during his 22 years in North London, suffering heartbreak to Barcelona in the 2005-06 final.
Asked by Sports Mole where winning the Champions League would put Arteta alongside the likes of Wenger, Winterburn said: "Arsenal have been chasing Champions League for a long time.
"Even in teams I played in, we would say that we were disappointed not to progress further in competition. But this would be great for Mikel Arteta. It would really be incredible.
"So, it's hard to say where he would put him, but he would elevate him up there with the big guns of Arsenal managers. Going to recent times, Wenger, George Graham."
Arsenal did not shy away from taking the game to Real Madrid at the Emirates last week, where Los Blancos managed to silence the fervent crowd inside the opening 45 minutes but were undone by three spectacular strikes in the second half.
Winterburn predicts Arsenal approach for Real Madrid second leg
© Imago
Two outrageous Declan Rice free kicks and a sublime Mikel Merino finish saw Arsenal storm to a deserved three-goal win, and on the previous four occasions where Real Madrid have lost the first leg of a European Cup tie by at least three goals, they have only progressed from one of them.
However, Los Blancos now have the Bernabeu factor on their side as they try to pull off a famous remontada, but Winterburn can still envisage his former side attacking Carlo Ancelotti's men as well as holding what they have.
"I think they'll try both," the former left-back replied when asked if Arsenal will go on the defensive or offensive in Madrid. "I think when they've got good possession of the ball in deep areas, they might try and put a bit of a press on.
"But when they lose the ball, I think they'll retreat quickly. Be very, very compact. You saw the workload off the ball the other night when Real Madrid had chances to break.
"The pace at which the whole team recovered to shut down the space was one of the features of the game for me. Everyone's talking about the goals, but the work that they put in off the ball, that will have to be equal, if not more, on Wednesday night because you simply do not want to let Real Madrid back into the game with the quality that they've got."
Rice's sensational set-pieces in the first leg were historically significant, as the England international became the first man to ever score two direct free kicks in one Champions League knockout match.
Both dead-ball strikes were of the unbelievable variety too, as Rice's first free kick curved around the wall and into the back of the net, before his second effort from the opposite side flew into the top corner past a helpless Thibaut Courtois.
Were Rice's free kicks better than Winterburn Chelsea screamer?
© Imago
Winterburn himself is no stranger to scoring screamers in an Arsenal shirt, memorably rifling home a long-range rocket in a 3-2 Premier League win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 1997, one which sealed the victory for the Gunners in the 89th minute.
However, the 61-year-old downplayed his strike in comparison to Rice's efforts, adding: "You have to take the context of the game. Mine was just a league game. This is quarter-finals of the Champions League.
"Declan Rice doesn't take many free kicks, I don't think he's ever scored a free kick. The amount of movement on the first one and then to follow it up a short period later, two incredible strikes.
"Even Merino's finish was very good. I said on the night, I thought it would be tight unless one team turned up and the others were a little bit off. And that's exactly what happened. Arsenal were compact, they pressed at the right times, they broke at the right times. They were clinical. And Real Madrid couldn't handle that.
"Arsenal didn't give them any space to break into. It was almost the perfect performance. If it was anybody but Real Madrid, I think most people would be going, 'we're through.' You've just got to manage the game.
"But the guys know exactly what they've got to do. The atmosphere is going to be electric. They've just got to see the second leg out and make sure that they are in the semi-final and have no regrets."
Arteta has confirmed that both Thomas Partey and Ben White have recovered from knocks to be fit for the second leg, where Arsenal could set a new Champions League record en route to the semi-finals.
Nigel Winterburn was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of William Hill
Ben Knapton
