For just the fourth time in their history, Arsenal will face off in a semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, heading to Madrid to face Atletico in the first leg of their semi-final.
2026 marks 20 years since the Gunners last made the final of the Champions League, when they were dramatically beaten 2-1 by Barcelona in Paris. Two decades later, they are poised with a massive opportunity to secure their spot at the biggest game in club football once more.
Atletico Madrid will be no easy task though, and will equally be desperate to end their duck of having never won the Champions League, losing in the final as recently as 2014 and 2016.
With the second leg back in London, Arsenal will fancy their chances, but they will have to overcome a trip to Madrid, where only Barcelona in the quarter-finals managed to end Diego Simeone’s long streak of having never lost a home tie in the knockouts of the UEFA Champions League.
In between the two semi-final ties, Arsenal have a massive opportunity to go six points clear at the top of the Premier League with three games to go, before Manchester City head to Everton on Monday night.
The Gunners will host Fulham, whom they have not completed the double over since 2022/23.
It will be a tough test for the Gunners, considering the fatigue aspect that will surely be a factor, but if Arsenal can manage to get through this pivotal week unscathed, then it will not only give the players leaps and bounds of confidence, but the supporters will begin to get extremely excited.
Mikel Arteta has a few difficult choices to make over his lineup for the Madrid tie.
Riccardo Calafiori is available once again, having not played since the first leg of the quarter-final against Sporting, so it is unlikely that he will start.
Piero Hincapie has also played a lot of minutes, and with the Fulham game coming up at the weekend, it offers an opportunity for Myles Lewis-Skelly to start.
Lewis-Skelly starred in the fixture during the League Phase when Arsenal won 4-0 at the Emirates, getting a brilliant assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal by travelling half the length of the pitch with the ball.
Interestingly, the 19-year-old played the last part of the 1-0 win against Newcastle in midfield, a decision that many Arsenal fans had been calling for because it is his natural position.
Martinelli may also play a pivotal role in this game, not only because of his goal in the reverse fixture, but also because his pace might be extremely useful for playing on the counter-attack.
Bukayo Saka returned at the weekend to play the final 20 minutes of the Newcastle game, so he could be in line for a start, though with some pivotal fixtures to come, Noni Madueke may start again across the front-line.
Viktor Gyokeres should start at centre forward in the absence of Kai Havertz, though if Arteta is willing to try something different, he has the options of Gabriel Jesus or even Leandro Trossard as a false 9, something that he has used often in the past, but for some reason has avoided using at any point this season.