Arsenal and Atletico meet to decide Champions League finalist

Arsenal and Atletico meet to decide Champions League finalist

Arsenal and Atletico Madrid will meet at the Emirates this evening, with the winner securing a spot in the Champions League final in Budapest later this month.

The tie is perfectly poised following an interesting first leg in the Spanish capital last week, which saw both sides score a penalty in a 1-1 draw. Viktor Gyökeres netted for the Gunners shortly before half-time, but their lead was short-lived as Julián Álvarez tucked home an equaliser from the spot 10 minutes into the second half.

Should Arsenal win, they will reach their first UCL final since 2006, when they were defeated 2-1 by Barcelona. Meanwhile, Atleti’s last Champions League final appearance came in 2016, when they lost to bitter rivals Real Madrid on penalties at San Siro.

These two sides have met before in a European semi-final, in the 2017/18 Europa League to be precise, where Atletico defeated Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate to reach the final. They went on to defeat Marseille 3-0 in the final thanks to a brace from Antoine Griezmann and a late goal from Gabi. Tonight will be Griezmann’s final UCL appearance in an Atletico shirt if they lose. He has announced that he will leave the club at the end of this season. The Frenchman has made almost 500 competitive appearances for Los Colchoneros since joining in the summer of 2014.

Both sides picked up comfortable domestic wins this past weekend, Arsenal thrashed 3-0 at the Emirates, whilst Diego Simeone’s side beat 2-0 away from home. This evening will surely prove a tougher test for both teams.