Arsenal’s semifinal win offers preview of a brutal Champions League Final
If FC Bayern makes it to Budapest, expect a street brawl.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates after the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Atletico de Madrid at Arsenal Stadium on May 05, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) | Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal is the first team to punch a ticket to this year’s Champions League Final after a suffocating 1-0 win over Atlético Madrid at the Emirates — a match which should be favored to play out in the same rough and tumble manner. The Gunners jumped ahead in the aggregate scoreline through Bukayo Saka at the halfway point in one of only two attempts and target.
From there, they successfully denied the visitors any semblance of coherent chances, save for the odd scare or two in transition, to close out the game. By the end, a visibly frustrated Diego Simeone had earned himself a yellow card complaining about calls while fruitlessly urging his team forward; his counterpart Mikel Arteta got one himself but only for cheekily getting in the way of a restart. It’s a convincing if non-aesthetic result for the Premier League giants, who are still embroiled in a ferocious title battle with Manchester City that is set to go down to the wire.
While the North London side has stumbled domestically at times, including a loss to Manchester City in April, this match — which began on level terms — was a preview of what Arsenal has to offer in a one-off championship match. Arteta’s men were brutal, pragmatic, always a threat on set pieces, and incredibly annoying to chase a game against. This is a team that can lock it down with the best of them, if given the opportunity to do so.
However, it is also one that has to work to get on the scoreboard, with creative and clinical finishing questions up front. Both strikers come with question marks. Today, Viktor Gyökeres showed his best in workrate and physicality to help Arsenal close out the game, but did not exactly bring his shooting boots.