Arsenal host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night in the Champions League, and Arsene Wenger will be watching on eagle-eyed.
The Gunners will be looking to secure a third consecutive victory in Europe’s elite competition, having beaten Athletic Club and Olympiacos in their first two matches of the League Phase.
With games against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan to come, it’s important that the North Londoners get points on the board early.
Mikel Arteta’s team strolled past Fulham on Saturday evening and will be hopeful that they can enjoy another serene victory when they entertain Diego Simeone’s side.
Arsenal don’t have an extensive history with Atletico Madrid.
In fact, the Gunners have only faced the Spanish giants twice ever in competitive competitions, both of which came in the same semi-final tie.
In the spring of 2018, Wenger’s side took on Simeone’s outfit in the last four of the Europa League.
The Frenchman had already announced that he would be leaving Arsenal at the end of that season, and was hoping for a spectacular end to his spell in N5, by finally delivering a European trophy to the Emirates.
A place in the final in Lyon, against Marseille, was up for grabs. Unfortunately, Atletico tragically took Wenger’s fairytale ending away from him.
In the first leg at the Emirates, Arsenal dominated the La Liga team for large periods, particularly after Sime Vrsaljki was sent off.
Alexandre Lacazette broke the deadlock for the Gunners, before Laurent Koscielny’s late slip allowed Antoine Griezmann to score an undeserved late equaliser.
In the second leg at the Metropolitano in Madrid, Koscielny went down with a serious achilles injury and was stretchered off the pitch after just 12 minutes. Arsenal were forced to play the majority of the game with Shkodran Mustafi alongside Calum Chambers, up against Diego Costa, who went on to score the solitary goal on the night.
Wenger and his players were crestfallen at full-time, and the legendary manager’s 22-year stint as Gunners boss ended in heartbreak.
Fast forward seven years and Arsenal host Atletico Madrid again, giving them an opportunity to avenge one of the most influential figures in their club’s history.
Atletico have been defensively resilient and extremely difficult to play against under Simeone in the last ten years.
However, so far this season, there have been clear signs of weakness in this regard. The Argentine’s team have conceded 14 goals in 11 matches across all competitions this term, while the underlying numbers don’t look particularly positive either.
Conceding more expected goals than the likes of Alaves, Athletic Club, Getafe and Real Betis in La Liga, they also shipped three goals away at Anfield in the Champions League.
Arsenal are the best defensive team in the world at the moment, and thus, if they can maintain this level at the back, then they have a real chance of avenging Wenger.
The Gunners should have the offensive tools to cause some damage to a leaky Atletico defence, although Arteta will have to take the handbrake off somewhat.
