Key Points
- Arsenal face Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday, 29 April at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, kick-off 9 pm CET (8 pm BST).
- The return leg takes place at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 5 May.
- Arsenal beat Atlético 4-0 in the Champions League league phase in October 2025, the only previous meeting between the two clubs in European competition.
- Atlético knocked out Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and have reached their first Champions League semi-final since the 2016/17 season.
- Arsenal beat Sporting CP 1-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and have reached back-to-back semi-finals for the first time in their history.
- Atlético midfielder Pablo Barrios is a serious doubt after picking up a thigh injury on Saturday, while Ademola Lookman and Alexander Sørloth are also unlikely to feature.
- Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze was withdrawn as a precaution in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Newcastle, but has since been assessed and is expected to be available. Kai Havertz is being monitored.
- Bukayo Saka is edging closer to a return and could feature at some stage of the tie.
Two days. That is all that separates Arsenal from the biggest night of their season. On Wednesday, 29 April, Mikel Arteta’s side travels to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid. A place in the final in Budapest on 30 May, and a shot at the first Champions League title in Arsenal’s 139-year history, is on the line.
Arsenal arrive in Madrid having steadied the ship on Saturday. A nervy 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates moved them back to the top of the Premier League, three points clear of Manchester City, with City still holding a game in hand. It was far from convincing, but it was a win, and confidence matters enormously heading into a match of this magnitude.
Arteta’s side knows Atlético well. When the two met in October in the Champions League league phase, Arsenal were rampant. A Viktor Gyökeres brace and strikes from Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli produced an amazing 4-0 victory that few in Spain saw coming. But Atlético are a different proposition in knockout football under Diego Simeone, who has reached three previous Champions League finals and knows exactly how to grind out results over two legs. They have won 11 of their 15 two-legged ties against English clubs in European competition, including all three semi-finals.
The injury picture gives Arsenal reason for cautious optimism. Atlético will likely be without Barrios, their energetic central midfielder, after he limped off with a thigh problem in Saturday’s La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao. Simeone admitted post-match that the injury could be serious enough to rule Barrios out of both legs. Lookman, signed from Atalanta in January and a key attacking weapon, is also unlikely to be risked after picking up an adductor issue in the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad.
For Arsenal, Eze’s post-match message on Saturday was reassuring. The winger played down his substitution as purely precautionary. Havertz remains under assessment. Saka, absent since March with an ankle issue, is reported to be edging closer to a return, though whether he features in Madrid remains unclear.
Arsenal have never won the Champions League. They were runners-up in 2006. They have not reached the final since. Wednesday night in Madrid is the next step on what could be a historic journey.
