Atletico Madrid –
A devastating second-half display saw us blow Atletico Madrid away as we recorded a massive win to continue our 100% start in the Champions League.
Having impressed in the opening 45 minutes without getting on the scoreboard, that changed after the break when Gabriel headed us in front, before three goals in six minutes swept Diego Simeone’s side away.
Gabriel Martinelli’s neat finish doubled the advantage before Viktor Gyokeres got back on the goal trail with a brace, to bring up our 100th win in the Champions League in style and put us firmly in the driving seat for a spot in the top eight of the league table, and thus the last-16 for the third straight season.
Highlights: Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Opening 45 stalemate
The game was just in the fifth minute when Ebere Eze skipped around Jose Maria Gimenez, took aim and saw his deflected shot loop over Jan Oblak but ping off the crossbar. It rebounded kindly into the path of Declan Rice, but he scuffed his volley into the turf and agonisingly watched the ball bounce over the top.
The bright start continued and Myles Lewis-Skelly screwed a shot wide of the far post before Oblak came to the rescue when an inch-perfect Eze pass allowed Bukayo Saka a run on goal but the veteran keeper sped out to block the attempt at point-blank range.
But that good start nearly went up in smoke on 24 minutes when David Raya attempted to usher the ball out of play but instead saw it nicked by Guiliano Simeone. Our keeper slid in to concede a throw-in which was quickly taken by the Argentinian winger to his countryman Julian Alvarez who took aim with an empty goal gaping, but fortunately for us, it trickled just wide.
There was no doubting that we were the better side in the opening 45, and did manage to find the net on 36 minutes when Martin Zubimendi won possession in a dangerous area, and freed Saka to square for Martinelli for a tap-in, but the Brazilian strayed offside as he attempted to keep up with his fellow winger.
Martinelli then miscued a header from a good position wide after a fine Rice cross in the final action of the first half, but four minutes after the break, Atletico showed they had plenty of firepower of their own as Alvarez came within a whisker of his eighth goal of the campaign when the World Cup winner turned and thumped a vicious strike off the crossbar. It would prove to be the game’s sliding doors moment.
Arteta: Courage was key in big win over Atletico
Gabi grabs breakthrough
Somehow the game remained goalless and Oblak kept it that way for a little while longer when an intricate Zuminedi flick allowed Gyokeres the chance to poke the ball goalwards but the keeper again stayed big to snuff out the danger, but on 56 minutes we finally found a way past the Slovenian stopper.
Martinelli’s power and pace drew a foul from Marcos Llorente on the left touchline, allowing Rice to whip a devilish delivery into the box, and Gabriel was left undetected to run onto it and nod into the net to hand us the all-important lead.
He was instrumental at the other end moments later when he got a crucial toe onto a Simeone effort to divert it off-target, and then David Hancko headed just over the top from a fine Lorente cross as the Spanish side aimed to swiftly strike back.
Gyokeres “hungry” to keep goals flowing
Floodgates open
But the next punch would be a hammer blow for the visitors, as we grabbed a superb second. Rice found Lewis-Skelly in the centre circle and he drove forward all the way to the edge of the box, releasing the ball at the perfect time for Martinelli to instinctively stroke the ball first-time past Oblak, with the upright helping him register his fourth goal in his last six European matches.
The atmosphere crackled around Emirates Stadium, and moments later, we would add a third as Gyokeres’ search for a goal ended. Martinelli was again instrumental, speeding down the left to latch onto another fine Zubimendi pass to centre for Eze, who saw a volley spin into the Swedish striker’s path. With the ball stuck in his feet, he managed to hold off a defender before squirming it towards goal, and fortune favoured him as it trickled past Oblak.
And having waited seven matches to score once, just three minutes later he grabbed another. Again, set-pieces proved to be fruitful as Rice whipped another one into the box which Gabriel met, and Gyokeres only had to nudge it over the line from close range to add further salt into the Atletico wounds with our third in six devastating minutes.
That allowed Mikel Arteta to call upon his bench and give some players a breather ahead of Crystal Palace on Sunday, and all that was left was to try and ensure we could maintain our incredible record of never conceding a home goal under his watch in the competition’s group/league phase.
That stretched to nine matches after we comfortably saw the game out, securing three Champions League wins in a row without conceding for the first time since October 2007. But more importantly, it takes us to nine points on the board, with another four probably enough to secure a last-16 spot in the spring.
Every word from Arteta’s post-Atletico presser
What’s next
We’re back in action in N5 on Sunday when we host Crystal Palace in Premier League action, and then the following Wednesday, Brighton & Hove Albion are the visitors in the Carabao Cup fourth round. Then on Saturday, November 1 we head to Burnley for the first time since February 2024.
