LONDON — With Arsenal still searching for a decisive victory to clinch their Premier League title, the wait for a UEFA Champions League equivalent is over.
For almost an hour on Tuesday evening, Atlético Madrid’s visit to the Emirates Stadium was a combative and hard-fought contest that many had previously expected. And then, an explosion happened: the house that Atlético coach Diego Simeone stoically built for almost 14 years was shattered by four goals in 14 minutes, and the Gunners won 4-0. The expanded and bloated format of this group stage dilutes the importance of early results on paper, but the effect it could have on Arsenal’s young squad aiming to finally add trophies to years of progress could be profound.
Simeone’s side were beaten 4-0 at Benfica last season but rarely face such a drubbing in the second half. “We played very well until Arsenal’s first goal,” he said afterwards. “After that we could have defended better. They did very well and they scored their goals. And of course, set pieces are so important in football, and that can be the key in this competition, because it comes down to fine margins to take control of the match or not.
“And it’s not due to bad luck, but to mistakes, so they took advantage of our mistakes, took their chances and all their big chances turned into goals.”
Arsenal’s set-piece prowess is common knowledge. While the Premier League has failed to find an answer – Arsenal’s 37 goals from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season is 16 more than anyone else – Simeone, the game’s best defensive coach, surely could.
It seemed for a while that this would be the case. And the answer was simple, although extremely difficult to implement: don’t give them an opportunity. Arsenal only had one corner in the first 45 minutes. Declan Rice’s 57th-minute free-kick that Gabriel Magalhães headed in was, as defined by Opta, Arsenal’s first free-kick chance all night.
This goal opened the floodgates. Gabriel Martinelli scored a sublime second seven minutes later before a brace from Viktor Gyökeres, which ended a 601-minute goal drought at club level, gave Arsenal the kind of scoreline that will make Europe sit up and take notice. Those four goals were more of a cold shower than anything Atlético had experienced the day before when hot water was briefly unavailable after their training session at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal’s summer spending has led many to believe they now own one of the best teams in Europe. But in clawing their way to the top of the table in England, they had not produced the performances needed to justify the hype. This will serve as a reference point for the future, a night where a few of these new recruits will feel more comfortable. Martín Zubimendi patrolled the midfield with authority. Gyökeres scored the goals his manager, Mikel Arteta, believed his performance warranted, although the first owed it all to a wide deflection from Dávid Hancko and the second was a must-win point-blank finish off his thigh.
“He deserved it because everything we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks, there was no debate about that,” Arteta said. “It was about keeping that confidence in him, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely.
“I think we’ve become a lot more unpredictable. He’s so physical, open, his face goes to everyone. The way he presses the ball, holds it, it’s phenomenal. And then there’s the icing on the cake and the most important thing we’re going to discuss about him is the goals. He scored two very different ones today, and I hope he starts to get some momentum and a good run of goals.”
Bukayo Saka spoke last season of his desire to one day win the Ballon d’Or and be considered one of the greatest wingers in the world. His overall performance deserved it here; he was a constant threat on the right, but Saka’s work off the ball was just as important to Arteta. Martinelli was equally dynamic in this regard: his eight ball recoveries were three more than any player on either side.
Nothing is decided in October, but the baton could pass from Simeone to Arteta as Europe’s most defensively resolute coach. Arsenal have conceded just one shot on target in their last three games. Additionally, they have conceded three goals in all competitions, putting them on course to break several records. This total is the fewest Arsenal have conceded in their opening 12 matches in their 138-year history.
Of course, they’ve already broken various club records under Arteta, only to come up empty-handed. All that matters this time is that they cross the line. Nights like this suggest they may be in a better position than ever to do so.
