Real confident they can spike Gunners

Real Madrid are confident they can spike the Gunners when Arsenal come calling next week for the pair's Champions League showdown, media quoted French veteran Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian Roberto Carlos as saying.

Real saw their hopes of the Spanish Cup disappear Tuesday as they just failed to overturn a 6-1 semi-final, first-leg deficit against Real Zaragoza, a 4-0 return win not enough.

But the performance has sparked hopes of a revival in other competitions.

"I never saw anything like it. In this atmosphere we'll certainly eliminate Arsenal ... and we can aspire to win the European Cup also," As sports daily quoted Zidane as telling fellow players."

"If we play as we did against Zaragoza we can win the league or the Champions League," Marca sports daily quoted Roberto Carlos, who has already lifted the European Cup three times with the club, the last occasion in 2002.

The February 21 meeting will see the nine-times European champions host an Arsenal side who have never won Europe's premier club competition in a match which is set to draw a full house to the Bernabeu, prompting Spain's national anti-violence commission to designate the match "high risk."

As meanwhile indicated that Spanish international striker Raul, who has been hoping to return for the second leg after three months out with a ruptured meniscus and a partial knee ligament rupture suffered in November, might return to action as early as Saturday against Alaves in the league.

Real hope the talismanic star can return as soon as possible with Barcelona seven points clear in La Liga.