Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has called on his teammates to embrace the occasion rather than be burdened by past disappointments, with the Gunners facing Atletico Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at the Metropolitano. Arsenal have never won European football's premier club competition.

The north London club arrives in Spain unbeaten in the Champions League this season, chasing a first final appearance since 2005. Arsenal fell at this same stage last year, losing 3-1 on aggregate to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.

"How can you not enjoy it?" Odegaard said. "We're playing in probably the toughest and most competitive league in the world, fighting for the title in the Premier League and we're in the semifinal of the Champions League. It is hard for me to understand how you could not enjoy that."

Odegaard acknowledged the weight of consecutive near-misses, Arsenal have finished runners-up in the Premier League three straight seasons, but insisted the lessons have strengthened the squad.

"It's always going to be there until we win it," he said. "We need to take the experiences and the lessons and use it in a good way."

Arsenal will be without injured pair Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber in Madrid. Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori both return for the first leg.

Odegaard also dismissed speculation linking him to a summer departure.

"I don't know where that is coming from," he said. "There's always going to be talk and people speculating. I guess that is normal in football but it is not something I know anything about."

Manager Mikel Arteta framed the match as a defining opportunity.

"This is the stage that we want to be, and we have earned it through incredible work, passion and quality in the last nine months," Arteta said. "Now is the moment to make a statement and show how good we are."