THREE & NOT SO EASY FOR MIKEL

MIKEL ARTETA faces a defining night of his reign as Arsenal boss in the magnificent setting of the Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow night.

- BY JOHN CROSS

Go through to the semi-finals of the Champions League and he will go down as the manager who led the Gunners past the might of Real Madrid.

Go out and Arteta will be the manager that threw away a 3-0 first-leg lead, followed by questions about whether he can ever lead the club to the biggest trophies.

If you lose from 3-0 up, it is a body blow from which managers struggle to recover.

Unai Emery lost his job as Paris Saint-Germain boss a year after blowing a 4-0 first-leg win over Barcelona (above, right), who won the return 6-1.

Former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde suffered the same fate against Liverpool in 2019 (circle, right) after his team won the first leg 3-0 but lost the return 4-0 in one of Anfield's greatest European nights.