Arsenal arrive in Madrid targeting victory rather than a cautious first-leg result against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will not settle for a draw at the Estadio Metropolitano, despite the tie being finely balanced over two legs.
Both clubs carry long European histories without lifting the European Cup or Champions League. Arsenal have played 223 games in the tournament, while Atletico Madrid have featured 190 times. Neither side has yet converted those campaigns into the title they both continue to chase.
The first leg takes place at the Estadio Metropolitano on Wednesday, with the return at Emirates Stadium next Tuesday. Arsenal already beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 in a league-stage match in October,
equalling Atletico Madrid’s joint-heaviest defeat in UEFA’s main club competition.
Arteta underlined that Arsenal’s gameplan in Spain focuses on securing an away win. "This is the stage that we want to be at, and we have earned it through incredible work, passion and quality in the last nine months," Arteta said. "Now is the moment to make a statement and show how good we are, how much we want it, and to make it happen. "
"The opportunity is in front of us and we have to attack it. We have prepared the game to win it. There's no question about that. We know the difficulty of the match, but I think we have shown in Europe, at any ground, what we are capable of. "
"We've been very consistent and tomorrow we have to play with that confidence, with that desire and that will. We have to come here to win the game. " That stance follows a narrow 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday, which returned Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table.
Madrid bound. pic.twitter.com/de2OqpI8KhArsenal (@Arsenal) April 28, 2026
Arsenal’s current Champions League form provides strong encouragement. The team is unbeaten in 12 games in the tournament. Avoiding defeat on April 29, 2026, would match the club’s longest run without loss in Europe’s top club competition, previously achieved between March 2005 and April 2006.
That earlier sequence lasted 13 games and carried Arsenal to the 2006 Champions League final, where Barcelona claimed victory. Arteta believes the present squad have shown enough quality this season to repeat that level and turn it into a winning performance in the Spanish capital.
Arsenal’s head coach also highlighted the challenge posed by Diego Simeone’s long-standing Atletico Madrid side. "Well, I think with a lot of work he's carried out, he has transformed the club in 15 years," Arteta said of Simeone. "The way he has done it, I have always had admiration for these kinds of people. "
"He is very connected to the club. He is an absolute role model. " Simeone has guided Atletico Madrid to two Champions League finals during a 17-year spell, losing both showpiece games to Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016 but firmly establishing Atletico Madrid among Europe’s regular contenders.
That history, along with October’s 4-0 result and Arsenal’s 12-match unbeaten Champions League run, shapes a semi-final filled with pressure for both clubs. Arteta, however, continues to stress a straightforward message built on recent European displays and domestic form, centred on belief that Arsenal can win in Madrid and control the tie.
