After drawing the first leg 1-1, Arsenal know that extending their formidable recent home form in this competition when they host Atletico Madrid will end their long wait for a UEFA Champions League (UCL) final appearance.
This season marks exactly 20 years since Arsenal last reached the UCL final, and two decades of hurt look likely to come to an end here based on some fine form in this season’s competition.
The Gunners haven’t been beaten in the UCL this term (W10, D3), a run boosted by eight clean sheets, two of which came in quarter-finals (W1, D1), but it was their attack that claimed the headlines at the weekend as their 3-0 demolition of Fulham at the Emirates stretched their lead at the Premier League summit.
Mikel Arteta’s men have now won back-to-back home games without conceding and have lost just one of their last 24 home European games (W17, D6), winning five of six such outings this season (D1).
Only a victory on the road will suffice for Atlético to progress here, and they managed exactly that on Saturday when Diego Simeone’s heavily-rotated side beat Valencia 2-0. With their spot in La Liga’s top four now all but secure, they can place added focus on this game, where they bid to reach a first UCL final since 2015/16.
Six victories from their last seven European semi-finals – the last of which came against Arsenal in the 2017/18 Europa League – stand Atlético in good stead here, but they’ll have to overcome some indifferent away form across their last ten road trips to build on that record (W3, D1, L6), while their three UCL away defeats this season all came against English opponents!
One of Atlético’s three defeats away to English opposition this season was a 4-0 league phase thumping on this ground. Simeone’s men have lost on six of their last seven visits to England (W1), while Arsenal are unbeaten in nine games against Spanish opposition (W7, D2).
