Diego Simeone joked that Atletico Madrid changed hotels for their Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal because it was 'cheaper', rather than superstition.
Atletico stayed in the four-star Marriott Hotel in Regents Park ahead of their 4-0 drubbing by Mikel Arteta's side in the league phase back in October. Yet, for Tuesday's last-four clash, which is evenly poised at 1-1, the Spanish side have moved to the five-star Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch, in east London.
It had been reported that Simeone ordered the move to break the potential bad luck of being thrashed in October. But when asked about the decision, a smirking Simeone said: 'The hotel was cheaper. That's why we changed.'
Arteta calls for 'beasts' mentality
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has roared on Arsenal to 'go for it' and play like 'beasts' to overcome Atletico Madrid as they hunt down a first Champions League final in two decades. The tie is evenly poised at 1-1 after last week's first leg in Madrid, with the Gunners desperate to go one step closer to winning Europe's premier competition for the first time in Arsenal's history.
The previous time the north London club reached the final was their 2006 defeat by Barcelona in France.
'The only thing I have is to finish preparing as best as possible, and that we (the team) go out there like beasts and enjoy the moment and go for it,' said Arteta. 'You can promise to work every single day with the vision and being determined with the ideas and the decisions that you take to bring this club to be one of the best in Europe. Here we are. Now we have to make the next step.'
'Go and grab it. When you are in front of such an opportunity, it means that you are ready to deliver. And the team is going to go from the first minute to go and get that.'
On the patience of Arsenal fans, he added: 'They've been waiting for so long to have this kind of night. Push hard tomorrow, because it's something amazing that's going to happen.'
'This is the moment that we want to live together. We have a lot of work as a club, as a team, after 20 years to be in this position again. And we are so hungry to get the game that we want tomorrow and go through to that final.'
Team news boost for Arsenal
In a major boost, Arteta confirmed that Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz will be in Tuesday night's squad. Odegaard suffered a knee injury in last Wednesday's first leg which saw him miss Saturday's 3-0 victory over Fulham, while Havertz has missed Arsenal's last two matches. Though, Jurrien Timber is still sidelined with a groin issue.
