At a Glance:
- Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday night.
- The Gunners will be looking to put one foot in the Champions League final ahead of an intense Premier League run-in.
- Here’s how Mikel Arteta might set his team up against Diego Simeon’s side.
Arsenal visit Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday night at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Gunners eased past Sporting CP in the previous round, keeping Rui Borges’ side at arm’s length for 180 minutes in Lisbon and at the Emirates. Kai Havertz’s 91st-minute winner at the Jose Alvalade Stadium was enough to overcome the Portuguese giants, setting up a winnable semi-final against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Despite beating Newcastle United on Saturday to regain their lead at the top of the Premier League, the mood music around N5 isn’t positive at the moment, and Mikel Arteta’s side desperately need something to rejuvenate the club. Putting one foot in a European final would certainly do this, and thus, Wednesday night’s affair in the Spanish capital is monumental for the Gunners.
Fortunately for Arteta, Atletico head into the first leg in dire form. Simeone’s outfit have won just two of their last nine matches across all competitions, with one of these victories coming at the Nou Camp in the Champions League, when Barcelona played with ten men for an entire half.
Thus, Arsenal should be confident that they can progress into their first final in Europe’s elite club competition since 2006.
| Date | Result | Competition |
| 21/10/2025 | Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid | Champions League |
| 03/05/2018 | Atletico Madrid 1-0 Arsenal | Europa League |
| 26/04/2018 | Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid | Europa League |
Arsenal team news vs Atletico Madrid, Kai Havertz injury update
Arsenal have a few fresh injury issues to contend with following Saturday’s game in North London.
Havertz was forced off the pitch in the first half against the Magpies, with the German seemingly sustaining yet another injury setback. This raised alarm bells amongst Gunners supporters, who had taken to the additional technical security he provides over Viktor Gyokeres.
However, it’s now been revealed that Havertz’s injury isn’t serious, with HandofArsenal reporting on Sunday evening that there is ‘cautious optimism’ around the striker’s fitness situation. What this means for his availability in Madrid remains to be seen, although HandofArsenal’s suggestion that there were initial fears of a severe injury would suggest that he’s unlikely to be involved in the first leg of this tie.
There is cautious optimism around the injury of Kai Havertz. Timeline yet to be determined but initial fears of it being really serious have been alleviated.
— HandofArsenal (@HandofArsenal) April 26, 2026
Trying to be as careful as I can with injury news and how fast it can change but thought the fanbase could do with this..
Elsewhere, it’s believed that this game will come too soon for Jurrien Timber, who continues to fight back from a groin problem. Eberechi Eze came off in the second half of the clash with Newcastle, although the England international revealed afterwards that his substitution was merely precautionary.
Mikel Merino remains absent due to his significant foot injury.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs Newcastle
Arteta has a number of key team selection decisions to make ahead of this tie. The Spaniard needs to decide whether he’s going to err on the side of caution or take a more adventurous approach at the Wanda Metropolitano.
If he opts for the former, which he likely will, then he’ll probably call upon Cristhian Mosquera at right-back. The centre-back provides additional defensive security to Ben White, who has struggled in recent matches, and Arteta may favour this against someone like Ademola Lookman.
The rest of the back four picks itself, with David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Piero Hincapie shoo-ins. That said, Arteta does now have Riccardo Calafiori available to him again, and he may be tempted by the Italian’s offensive thrust.
In midfield, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are likely to be deployed together once again. Christian Norgaard and Myles Lewis-Skelly clearly aren’t trusted to start in the middle of the park at the moment, while Eze is now operating off the left.
The former Crystal Palace man will likely take that role up again, with Gyokeres starting inside of him if Havertz misses out. On the right, Bukayo Saka may start after his promising cameo against Newcastle, even if he’s not fully fit yet.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs Atletico Madrid: Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze.
Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal Prediction
Atletico are no longer the gritty, defensively resilient side they once were under Simeone. The Argentine’s team are much more open, while they’re also much more willing to throw bodies forward in pursuit of a goal.
This could suit Arsenal, who can hurt teams in transition when they have their best players available. That said, the Gunners may struggle to live with Atletico’s general intensity, and the hostile home crowd will certainly make things difficult for them.
Arsenal are, however, now experts at turning up at lively European grounds, making the first leg a non-event and emerging with a strong result intact. There’s no reason to believe they can’t do the same here, against a weak and out-of-form Atletico.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Arsenal
