end of list<\/span><\/section>\nThe Gunners have conceded just five goals in 12 games so far, the kind of record associated with Atletico during coach Diego Simeone\u2019s long reign of feisty football.<\/p>\n
But this is a more expansive Atletico side, with a surprising 26 goals conceded in 14 Champions League games this season, while Julian Alvarez has scored nine of the 34 scored at the other end.<\/p>\n
The two teams have already faced off this season, but Arsenal\u2019s 4-0 win over Atletico in October in the league stage feels a long time ago. A four-goal burst in 15 second-half minutes, including two from Viktor Gyokeres, showed a freedom that Mikel Arteta\u2019s team has found hard to recapture in a tense second half of the season.<\/p>\n
Arsenal have endured a rocky patch recently \u2013 losing to Man City in the League Cup final, and in a key league game \u2013 but maintain a three-point lead at the top of the table, although City have a game in hand.<\/p>\n
The hosts, meanwhile, are fourth in La Liga, and the Champions League represents their last hope of silverware this season after defeat in last weekend\u2019s Copa del Rey final.<\/p>\n
Atletico\u2019s path to the semifinals has been taking first-leg leads \u2013 ambushing Tottenham at home then winning at Barcelona \u2013 before riding out severe pressure in the return game. That will be in London on Tuesday next week.<\/p>\n
The winners will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Budapest on May 30.<\/p>\n
What have the managers said?<\/h2>\n Atleti coach Diego Simeone said, \u201cWe\u2019re heading into the semifinals with all our enthusiasm and all our faith. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have great confidence in what we do. We\u2019re ready, and we\u2019re going to go after what we\u2019ve been chasing for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said, \u201cIt\u2019s a massive moment [to reach consecutive semi-finals]. It\u2019s the first time in our history, in 140 years \u2013 to be part of those four teams is something very special. You have to earn it. You have to go through a lot of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
What have the players said?<\/h2>\n Atleti forward Antoine Griezmann said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who we face as long as we\u2019re still in it. It\u2019s been a great and tough tie [against Barcelona] against a fantastic team that plays very well. It was a struggle, but we\u2019re still in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli noted, \u201cWe believe in ourselves, we know the quality we have. We won against them in the league phase, but it\u2019s going to be a completely different game.\u201d<\/p>\n
How did Atletico reach the semifinals?<\/h2>\n Atletico Madrid sent 10-man Barcelona crashing out of the Champions League and reached the final four with a\u00a03-2 aggregate victory, despite a 2-1 quarterfinal second-leg defeat.<\/p>\n
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres fired visitors Barca ahead inside 24 minutes, but Ademola Lookman\u2019s strike gave Atletico the edge in the gripping all-Spanish tie after their 2-0 win in the first leg.<\/p>\nAdemola Lookman celebrates scoring Atletico\u2019s first goal with teammates [Angel Martinez\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHow did Arsenal reach the semifinals?<\/h2>\n Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta\u2019s team were well below their best in the quarterfinal second leg at the Emirates Stadium, but they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay.<\/p>\n
Head-to-head<\/h2>\n The two clubs have only faced each other on three occasions, with each winning one game and one match ending as a draw.<\/p>\n
Before meeting this season, the previews encounter ended up being the last European tie for former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.<\/p>\n
\nOctober 21, 2025: Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid (Champions League, league stage)<\/li>\n May 03, 2018: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Arsenal (Europa League semifinal)<\/li>\n April 26, 2018: Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid (Europa League semifinal)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhat happened when they last played each other?<\/h2>\n Arsenal thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 back in October thanks to a devastating second-half broadside at the Emirates Stadium in a Champions League league-stage clash.<\/p>\n
What had been a compelling clash with little between the sides in the first half became an Arsenal rout, with goals by Gabriel, Martinelli and a brace from Gyokeres leaving Simeone\u2019s side shell-shocked.<\/p>\nViktor Gyokeres scores Arsenal\u2019s fourth goal against Atletico [Andrew Couldridge\/Action Images via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHave either side ever won the European Cup\/Champions League?<\/h2>\n Neither side have ever been European champions.<\/p>\n
Atletico reached the final in 2014 and 2016, and were beaten on both occasions by archrivals Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
Arsenal reached the final in 2006, but were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Atletico\u2019s team news<\/h2>\n Midfielder Pablo Barrios is set to miss the game and will be out for about a month after sustaining a thigh injury against Bilbao.<\/p>\n
Lookman was not named in the squad for the weekend game after picking up a knock in the Copa del Rey final defeat by Real Sociedad, but may return for the Arsenal game.<\/p>\n
Defender David Hancko is also expected to remain unavailable due to an injury.<\/p>\n
Predicted starting XI:<\/strong><\/p>\nOblak (goalkeeper); Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Gonzalez; Griezmann, Alvarez<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s team news<\/h2>\n Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze were both forced off with muscles issues in the win over Newcastle \u2013 Eze subsequently said he came off as a precaution and is \u201cfine\u201d, but Havertz is a doubt.<\/p>\n
Midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who was taken off at half-time against Newcastle, will also face a late assessment.<\/p>\n
Riccardo Calafiori is still recovering from a knock and is a major doubt, while Jurrien Timber has been out with a groin issue for about a month and is likely still some way from making a full recovery.<\/p>\n
Mikel Merino is definitely unavailable as he recovers from surgery on an ankle injury.<\/p>\n
Predicted starting XI:<\/strong><\/p>\nRaya (goalkeeper); White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Who:\u00a0Atletico Madrid vs ArsenalWhat:\u00a0Champions League semifinal, first legWhere: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, SpainWhen: Wednesday, April 29 at 9pm (19:00 GMT)How to follow:\u00a0We\u2019ll have all the build-up on\u00a0Al Jazeera Sport\u00a0from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream. Arsenal\u2019s record as the only unbeaten football team in this season\u2019s Champions League will be tested in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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