After reclaiming their Premier League lead, at least temporarily, on Saturday night against Newcastle United, Arsenal enter their second-straight UEFA Champions League semifinal, aiming to make it to the final for the first time in 20 years.
The Gunners travel to Spanish capital for the first leg of their semifinal tie against Atlético Madrid, as they seek to find cheer in Europe amid a draining Premier League title race.
Arsenal have reached this stage after beating Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting CP in the last two rounds, with neither win wholly convincing, but both fairly deserved for Mikel Arteta's side. They face a battle-hardened Atlético, who came through a tough quarterfinal tie against Barcelona, aided by red cards to their opponents in both legs of that tie.
Diego Simeone's priorities have been evident from his team selections in some recent league games, with Atletico out of the LaLiga title race, and comfortable in their position within the top four, so the Champions League is is the only competition that matters for Atlético now, with it also being the one that has gotten away from Simeone during his stellar spell with this club so far.
Here's everything you need to know about Wednesday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK, CBS Sports in the U.S., SonyLiv in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Wednesday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. ET; 12:30 a.m. IST, Thursday and 5:00 a.m. AEST, Thursday).
Venue: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid.
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
VAR: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
Injury and Team News:
Atletico Madrid
Ademola Lookman, F: adductor, DOUBT
Jose Gimenez, D: muscle, OUT
Pablo Barrios, M: thigh, OUT
Arsenal
Jurriën Timber, D: knock, DOUBT
Kai Havertz, F: knock, DOUBT
Eberechi Eze, M: knock, DOUBT
Riccardo Calafiori, D: knock, DOUBT
Mikel Merino, M: foot, OUT
Talking Points:
Can Arsenal manage the fight on both fronts?
Mikel Arteta was surprised to hear the first question he faced after Arsenal's win over Newcastle being about injuries to his players.
Unlike Atlético, there is no room for resting players or rotation of any kind for Arteta and Arsenal. With the Premier League title race heading down to the wire, Arteta will use his best players in both competitions. It's obviously a position that Simeone would rather be in as well, given that his rotational luxuries only exist because Atlético have no chance of competing for the LALIGA title.
However, in the context of this tie, that is critical. It will be a physical, bruising tie, as it always is when Atlético are involved. From a playing style perspective, Arsenal are certainly equipped to deal with what Atletico are likely to throw at them. However, they will have to manage their exertions well, especially in midfield. Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi have run on fumes in some games recently, but they will have to find an additional ounce of energy from their reserves, with the likes of Koke, Marcos Llorente and Giuliano Simeone relatively fresher than them, and certain to make it an intense battle, which is how Atletico have always played.
Arteta's Arsenal have been at their best when they've been able to control games throughout, but in the league stage, they added vurve to that control, as they beat Atlético 4-0 at the Emirates. This is a more confident Atletico side than the one at the start of the season, so this is likely to be a completely different game, but Arsenal's intensity will have to be at it from the start.
Alvarez and Griezmann are key
Julián Álvarez played a key role in Atlético's quarterfinal win over Barcelona, with significant contributions in both legs of the tie. Once again, the Argentine will be the main man for Atlético. He's such a versatile striker that he's bound to cause some problems for William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães.
The fact that Álvarez is never stationary will make it a challenge for Arsenal to deal with him. An additional challenge will be the presence of Griezmann, who dovetailed brilliantly with Álvarez, particularly in the second leg of that quarterfinal tie. In the possible absence of Ademola Lookman through a thigh injury, the onus is all on Atlético and Griezmann to ensure that Atlético use home advantage, and take an advantage to the Emirates Stadium next week.
Doubts over Havertz's fitness could be defining
It's clear from his selection in recent weeks that Arteta sees Kai Havertz as his main striker. The German has started the recent big games in the Premier League, despite Viktor Gyökeres being Arsenal's top scorer this season.
In the Premier League game at the weekend against Newcastle, Arsenal struggled to really make the ball stick up front after Gyokeres replaced Havertz who had to come off with a fitness concern. That counter attack right at the end, which Gyokeres spurned through a failure to make a relatively simple pass across to Bukayo Saka from the left, would've done nothing to ease Arsenal fans' concerns about Havertz's availability.
Gyokeres did score twice against Atlético in the league phase of the competition this season, but in an intimidating atmosphere like the one Arsenal will face on Wednesday night, they'll need their striker to make balls stick in transition, and for that, Havertz might be the better option as it stands.
Can Arteta navigate through Simeone's experience?
Simeone is now into his fourth Champions League final, and has two final appearances to boot, during his time at Atletico. Even if this has been the trophy that has eluded Simeone at Atletico, it is not that they haven't gotten close. That experience is perhaps what he will bank on against an Arsenal side at the fag end of what has been a draining season.
Even if Arteta doesn't have the years of Simeone under his belt, he's no stranger to going head-to-head with and competing well against the best managers in the sport. Last season, Arsenal knocked out Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid in the quarterfinal of the Champions League, before falling to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Even in the Premier League, the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp haven't found it easy against Arteta's Arsenal, particularly since 2022. So this isn't a no-contest by any stretch.
What do the numbers say?
Arsenal have lost only one of their last 11 Champions League away matches.
Arsenal are the only unbeaten team remaining in this season's Champions League.
Arsenal have reached consecutive Champions League semifinals for the first time in their history.
Arsenal have won their last seven Champions League matches against Spanish teams.
Atletico have won only two of their last 12 games against English teams in European competition.
However, Atletico have won 11 of their 15 previous two-legged ties against English teams in European competition.
Atlético have beaten Arsenal in a European semifinal before -- a 2-1 aggregate win in the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League.
Atlético have never scored more than the 34 goals they've scored in this Champions League season.
