Arsenal one game from Champions League final after 20-year wait

Key facts

• Arsenal face Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium.
• The first leg in Madrid ended 1-1, leaving the tie finely balanced.
• Arsenal have not reached a Champions League final since 2006, when they lost to Barcelona.
• Mikel Arteta's side beat Fulham 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday as preparation.
• Captain Martin Ødegaard returns after missing the Fulham match; Kai Havertz is also available after a knee injury.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight games against Spanish sides in the Champions League.
• Atlético Madrid have lost six of their last seven away games against English sides in the competition.
• The winner will advance to the final, with Atlético seeking a third final under Diego Simeone.

A night 20 years in the making

Arsenal stand on the threshold of a first UEFA Champions League final in two decades. Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium will decide whether Mikel Arteta's side can end a drought that stretches back to 2006, when they lost to Barcelona in Paris. A 1-1 draw in the first leg in Madrid last week has left the tie delicately poised. A victory in north London would secure passage to the showpiece, a feat the club has not achieved since their final season at Highbury.

Arteta demands a 'beast' mentality

Mikel Arteta has urged his players to embrace the occasion with ferocity. 'We will take to the pitch as beasts tomorrow and enjoy the moment and go for it,' he told reporters on Monday. The Arsenal manager spoke of the hunger he sees in his squad. 'I can't wait. I feel the energy among the team and our supporters. This is the moment that we want to live together. We have worked hard as a club and as a team after 20 years to be in this position again. And we are so hungry to get through to that final.' Arteta described the match as one of the biggest in the history of the Emirates Stadium, which opened in 2006. He expressed confidence that his team is ready to deliver. 'When you are in front of such an opportunity, it means that you are ready to deliver, and the team is going to go from the first minute to go and get that.'

Key players return for decisive clash

Arteta will be able to call upon captain Martin Ødegaard, who missed Saturday's 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham. German forward Kai Havertz is also in contention after recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the last two games. The Fulham victory provided what Arteta called 'great preparation' for the Atlético clash. 'We maximised that in every term and the team has so much energy and is ready to go for more. I think it left a really good taste for everybody. Now we have to use that momentum towards tomorrow because it's exactly what we need.'

Historical edge for Arsenal against Spanish and Atlético opposition

Arsenal boast an impressive record against Spanish sides in the Champions League, unbeaten in their last eight such matches, with seven wins and one draw. Only Chelsea, with 16 games between 2006 and 2014, have a longer unbeaten run against Spanish opposition in the competition. Against Atlético specifically, Arsenal are undefeated in three meetings this season, winning 4-0 at the Emirates and drawing 1-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium. Only two managers have gone unbeaten in their first three games against Diego Simeone in the Champions League: Carlo Ancelotti and Maurizio Sarri. Atlético's away record against English sides is poor: they have lost six of their last seven such matches, including each of the last four. Their 4-0 defeat at the Emirates in October remains their joint-heaviest loss in the competition.

The long road back to Europe's elite

Arsenal's return to the Champions League in the 2023-24 season ended in a quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich. Last year, they fell at the semi-final stage to Paris Saint-Germain. Now they are one step away from surpassing those efforts. Arteta, who has never won a major trophy as a manager, acknowledged the weight of expectation. Asked if he could visualise Ødegaard lifting the Champions League trophy, he said: 'I did that many years ago and it was the thing that I had in mind for this club. You can never promise to win major trophies, but you can promise to work every single day by implementing the vision and being determined with the ideas and the decisions to make this club one of the best in Europe. Here we are. Now we have to make the next step.'

What a final would mean for Arsenal and Atlético

Should Arsenal reach the final, it would end a 20-year absence from the Champions League showpiece — the longest gap for an English side since Liverpool's 20-year wait between 1985 and 2005. For Atlético, a place in the final would be their third under Diego Simeone, after 2014 and 2016. Only Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) and Marcello Lippi (Juventus) have reached more finals with a single club, with four each. Arsenal have never won the Champions League. Their only final appearance ended in defeat to Barcelona in 2006. The club's last silverware of any kind was the FA Cup in 2020.

The bottom line

• Arsenal host Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, with the aggregate score 1-1.
• A win would send Arsenal to their first Champions League final since 2006.
• Mikel Arteta has called on his team to play with intensity, describing them as 'beasts'.
• Captain Martin Ødegaard and forward Kai Havertz are available after injury.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in eight Champions League games against Spanish sides; Atlético have lost four straight away games against English teams.
• The winner will face either [opponent] in the final, with Atlético seeking a third final under Diego Simeone.