Arsenal host Atlético Madrid in UCL London showdown
Arsenal and Atletico Madrid face off for a spot in the Uefa Champions League final at the Emirates Stadium in London 21:00 local time. Following a 1-1 stalemate in Madrid in the first leg on 28 April last week with the visiting side giving the hosts a fright in the initial stages of the match, Diego Simeone and his men will be looking to produce the unthinkable in Arsenal’s backyard on the return leg.
The two teams are no strangers to each other in this Champions League campaign having met in the league phase, an encounter which saw Arsenal record a convincing 4-0 at home. It is crunching time for Mikel Arteta’s side as he’ll be looking to marshal his team to the final of which if they go through, they stand to contest the winner of the other semi-final tie between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain. Atletico Madrid is on the verge of sealing a strong finish to this season’s champions league campaign if they manage to secure a semi-final spot for the first time in almost a decade since their 5-3 loss to Real Madrid in the 2016 final.
Should any of the teams win the final in Budapest there will be virgin champions engraved on the trophy considering that the last time Arsenal reached the champions league final was almost 2 decades ago in 2006 when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona.
Talking points
- The two teams are facing each other a week exactly after an intense 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano which saw offensive stalwarts Viktor Gyokores and Julian Alvarez on the scoresheet.
- Arsenal’s formiddable form is urging them towards title aspirations as have their eyes on the prize with domestic glory also on the horizon after Manchester City’s slip up with a 3-3 draw away at Goodison Park.
- Atletico will be looking to edge out Arsenal after not so smooth encounters against them and give talisman Antonie Griezmann a worthy send off as this marks his last season at the club after years of service.
- The winner of tonight’s encounter will be in running to face the winner of the Bayern Munich-Paris Saint Germain clash tomorrow.
