In search of silverware, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal kickstarted their 2025/26 Champions League campaign with a 2–0 win over Spanish outfit Athletic Club thanks to second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. The Gunners' rather routine victory at the Estadio de San Mames on Tuesday evening also marked an encounter etched in Champions League mythology as the north Londoners set a record that will be tricky to match.
After a summer of big spending – the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi spring to mind – Arsenal's first-half efforts were to no avail, and it looked as if they were going to be leaving Spain with a point to show. That was until Arsenal's Arteta, 43, made changes to his entire three-man attacking constellation.
Incredibly, it took Martinelli, who replaced Eze on the 71st-minute mark, just moments after coming off the bench to make the difference. Latching onto Trossard's ball over the top as he beared down on goal, the Brazilian slotted his effort past Unai Simon before Trossard himself doubled the visitors' lead with three minutes of regulation time left on the clock.
Arsenal Make Champions League History with 2-0 Win over Athletic Club
arsenal champions league
Not only did Arsenal – who are widely considered to be one of the biggest teams that have never won the Champions League – secured a comfortable victory in their maiden encounter in Europe, but they also took home a piece of history: they became the first side in European Cup/Champions League history to win six consecutive matches against Spanish teams.
In fact, it's almost been a decade since the north London outfit were beaten by Spanish opposition in the Champions League when Luis Enrique's Barcelona ran out victors twice in their two-legged Round of 16 tie in 2015/16 – but that does take into account a six-year absence from Europe's top tier competition between 2017 and 2023.
Arsenal's Six-Game Win Streak against Spanish Teams
Date
16/09/25
16/04/25
08/04/25
29/01/25
08/11/23
24/10/23
Of course, their win in Bilbao follows back-to-back wins over Sevilla in the 2023/24 season. Arsenal, under Arteta's stewardship, won home and away against the Europa League specialists – which included a narrow 2-1 victory at the Ramon Sanchex-Pizjuan Stadium as Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus both got on the scoresheet.
Arsenal's one – and only – meeting with Girona also resulted in a victory as Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri netted in a 2–1 win. But the club's most notable wins against La Liga sides came during the same season, 2024/25, when they faced Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid.
The underdogs, of course, Arsenal sent shockwaves through the competition when they welcomed Los Blancos to their stomping ground and beat them 3–0; a result best remembered for Declan Rice's duo of world-beating free-kicks. Watch them both below:
They travelled to Spain a week later and, albeit less convincingly, enjoyed the same success. It took until the 93rd minute for Martinelli to bag the English side their match-winner after Bukayo Saka and Vinicius Jr's respective goals were separated by just two minutes.
Arsenal, whose best finish in the Champions League was losing 2–1 to Lionel Messi-led Barcelona in the final in 2005/06, next face Greek outfit Olympiacos on home soil in the Champions League. Incredibly, they will have the chance to extend their record to seven on Tuesday 21 October as Atletico Madrid travel to the Emirates Stadium.