The Champions League is back and for Arsenal, they welcome Spanish giants Atletico Madrid to the Emirates Stadium as they look to build on their perfect start to this season’s European campaign after securing 2-0 victories over both Athletic Club and Olympiacos.
Mikel Arteta’s side sit fifth in the Champions League table and are yet to concede. On the other hand, Diego Simeone’s team are lurking in tenth place after securing a 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last game week which was the perfect response to their disappointing 3-2 defeat to Liverpool in the opening week.
Regarding their domestic league form, Arsenal have had the stronger start. The Gunners sit on top of the Premier League with nineteen points from their opening eight games. Leandro Trossard scored the telling goal against Fulham on Saturday to seal yet another win and clean sheet for Arsenal this season.
As for Atletico, they are currently eight points off the pace in La Liga. Nine games played and they’ve already dropped points in five games. Like Arsenal, Madrid secured a narrow 1-0 victory on the weekend with substitute Thiago Almada scoring the winner with twenty minutes to play against Osasuna. A first goal for the club since signing from Botafogo in the summer.
This will be the first time that these sides have met competitively since 2018 when they faced each other in the Europa League semi-final. It ended 1-1 at the Emirates with Alexandre Lacazette’s header being cancelled out by Antoine Griezmann’s late strike due to a defensive disaster from Arsenal. In the second leg, a Diego Costa goal on the stroke of halftime sent the Spaniards into the final, which they eventually won against Marseille.
Mikel Arteta has made the Emirates Stadium a fortress in the UCL group games. Eight games played there, eight wins and eight clean sheets which is remarkable and really emphasises how difficult this fixture will be for Atletico.
Arsenal is still without Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard with long term injuries. Piero Hincapie was in training earlier last week but wasn’t involved on the weekend but is expected to be back.
Atletico Madrid have been lucky with injuries this season. No long-term ones currently, and the only concern is Nicolas Gonzalez, who was substituted on the weekend due to injury.
PREDICTED LINE UPS
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Trossard, Saka, Gyokeres.
Atlético Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Le Normand, Giménez, Hancko, Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Almada, Griezmann, Álvarez.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal - Bukayo Saka
Since returning from injury last month, Bukayo has been fantastic for Arsenal. He earned a much deserved player of the match award on the weekend for his superb display at Craven Cottage. His directness and also his defensive contributions are crucial to Arsenal's success at the moment.
Atletico Madrid - Julian Alvarez
Alvarez is a huge threat and is highly recognised as one too. His finishing is deadly along with his fantastic movement in the box as well. Arsenal's defence will have to be at its best to deal with the Argentine.
MATCH DETAILS
The game is being played at the Emirates Stadium, London.
Kick off is at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, 21st October.
The game will be shown on Amazon Prime and the highlights will be available on TNT Sports.