Arsenal vs Atleti Champions League preview: where to watch, predicted line-ups, form, coach's thoughts

Arsenal host Atleti in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday 5 May.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What you need to know?

Viktor Gyökeres' first-half penalty was cancelled out by Julián Alvarez, who also converted from the spot after the break, leaving the tie on a knife edge heading to north London. Diego Simeone's side carried the greater attacking threat as the first leg at the Estadio Metropolitano wore on, underlining Atleti's firepower in their most prolific Champions League goalscoring season to date – with a club-record 35 goals, including ten from Alvarez.

Arsenal remain the only unbeaten team in this season's competition (W10 D3) and boast the meanest defence, keeping eight clean sheets and conceding just six goals, yet Atleti have not drawn a blank in 37 UEFA matches.

Arsenal's 4-0 win against the La Liga side on home soil in the league phase – when Gyökeres struck twice – will boost Mikel Arteta's confidence, while Atleti's recent record against English opposition offers further encouragement, with just two wins in their last 13 UEFA meetings (D3 L8). However, when the teams last met over two legs, in the 2017/18 Europa League semi-finals, Atleti edged the tie 2-1.

Both clubs are chasing a first European crown, but first Arsenal aim to reach a first final since 2005/06 and Atleti seek another opportunity to etch their name on the trophy after near misses in 2013/14 and 2015/16.

Possible line-ups

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapié; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Gyökeres, Martinelli

Atleti: Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Le Normand, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann

Form guide

Arsenal

Form: WDWLDL (most recent first)
Latest: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham, 02/05, English Premier League

Atleti

Form: WDWLDL
Latest: Valencia 0-2 Atleti, 02/05, Spanish Liga

Views from the camps

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: "I can't wait. I mean, I feel the energy in and amongst the team, our supporters, so these are the moments that we want to live together. We had a lot of work as a club, as a team, after 20 years to be in this position again, and we are so hungry to get a game that we want tomorrow and go through to the final."

Viktor Gyökeres, Arsenal forward: "I think we are in this position now for a reason. We’ve done very well throughout the season but of course now these games... are what it all comes down to, to get us over the line. It’s been incredible so far, what we have done, but we have to do it now."

Diego Simeone, Atleti coach: "I'm going to tell my players to play like they did in the second half at home. We'll try to play the match that needs to be played, with the intensity it demands. We have a lot of faith in what we do."

Antoine Griezmann, Atleti forward: "It'll be a great game to play, to experience, and hopefully we can show the right attitude and handle the pressure. We're one step away from another final. The team knows it and you there's a lot of confidence in the camp. We need to be tactically and defensively sound, and continue the same standard we showed in the second half at home."

Marcos Llorente, Atleti midfielder: "We need to step up our intensity and look to create more one-on-one situations in the final third – that's what keeps you in the game."

Reporter's view

Joseph Terry, match reporter
Both sides go into the second leg on the back of very positive results at the weekend. Arsenal's 3-0 win against Fulham put them back in control of the Premier League title race and – crucially, bearing in mind Atlético's miserly defence – was the first time they had scored more than one goal in a game since mid-March. It was similarly good news for Diego Simeone's side, whose 2-0 win against Valencia had the added benefit of allowing the Argentinian coach to rest several first-team players. Long out of contention in La Liga, they can afford to put all their focus into reaching a third final in the Champions League era.