Jose Callejon: Napoli need best performance of season against Arsenal
Napoli winger Jose Callejon admits the Serie A side must be at their best against Arsenal in the Champions League
Jose Callejon admits Napoli must produce their best performance of the season if they want to beat Arsenal at San Paolo Stadium on Wednesday night.
Napoli must beat Arsenal by three goals to guarantee their passage into the knockout stage regardless of Borussia Dortmund’s result against Marseille in the other Group F fixture.
At the moment Arsenal are the best team in Europe and we have to show the desire to beat them
Jose Callejon
The Naples outfit are eight points behind Serie A leaders Juventus after 3-3 draw with Udinese on Saturday, and Callejon admits Napoli need to step up their performance against the Gunners.
“We want to continue in the Champions League and that means we need to produce our best match of the season against Arsenal,” Callejon told Sky Sports.
“The situation depends on us because in football it is never good to depend on others. If Marseille managed to avoid defeat against Dortmund it will be excellent but I prefer to be focused on us beating the Gunners by three goals – it is not easy but is possible.”
He added: “At the moment, Arsenal are the best team in Europe, we have to show the desire to beat them,” he said.
“This group has always been level and until the last minute, we won’t know the result but we dream of making it through.
“We believe we merit going through, and we are 90-minutes away from proving that.
“The squad is optimistic and we are dreaming of a big European night on Wednesday.”
Pre-match facts: Napoli v Arsenal
• This is Arsenal’s 16th successive UEFA Champions League campaign; they have advanced from the autumn group stage in the last 13.
• Napoli are still unbeaten in six home games in the competition, winning five and drawing 1-1 with Bayern München on 18 October 2011.
• Arsenal’s 15-game unbeaten away run, which started following a 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on 3 March, was ended by a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on 10 November.
• Napoli suffered their first Serie A home defeat since 12 December 2012 on 23 November, going down 1-0 to Parma FC. They won 13 of the intervening 16 league games at the Stadio San Paolo.
