Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has called for concentration in their Champions League game against Arsenal. He’s also crowned Zlatan Ibrahimovic as one of the best.
Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has called for concentration in their Champions League game against Arsenal. He’s also crowned Zlatan Ibrahimovic as one of the best.
The Rossoneri play the Premiership club in the second leg of their European Cup tie on Tuesday, 4-0 up from the first tie at San Siro.
“Tomorrow’s game could seem simple, but that is only how it appears,” Allegri noted. “In reality, it won’t be like that.
“We’ll need to play with great determination and we can’t underestimate the game. We have a great chance to get to the quarter-finals and we’ll have to give our best to get there.”
Ibra was the star of the opening last 16 tie and he netted a hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Palermo.
“I hope that Ibrahimovic wins the Golden Ball, even if it will depend a lot on what we manage to achieve this year as a team,” the Coach continued.
“Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Ibra are the best three players in the world right now.”
Despite acknowledging the Swede’s importance, the tactician was keen to underline that there is a team ethic at Milanello.
“This isn’t Ibrahimovic’s Milan or my Milan, it is a Milan side built by a great club who in a year and a half managed to sign Ibra, Robinho, Boateng – 20 players in total.
“And in these 18 months we have won the Scudetto, the Italian Super Cup and we’re still fighting for three trophies this season.
“We’re obviously thinking about winning the Champions League, that is clear. You need a bit of luck too, but you need two or three years to be competitive.
“We’re targeting the last eight of the competition now and then we’ll see.”
Tomorrow’s tie in London could be a good opportunity for Milan to have a close look at Robin Van Persie – the striker who has been linked with a summer move to San Siro.
“Van Persie is a great player, but I don’t think I’ll get time tomorrow to watch the Dutchman,” Allegri noted. “Our game is more important than his game.”