Miles Lewis-Skelly Starts in Arsenal's Five-Change Arsenal Vs Atlético Madrid XI
Arsenal vs Atlético Madrid arrived with Miles Lewis-Skelly in midfield and five changes to Arsenal’s starting XI for the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium. The match kicked off at 8pm BST after the first leg finished 1-1, leaving Arsenal one strong performance away from turning that draw into a place in the final.
Arteta’s midfield call
Mikel Arteta moved Lewis-Skelly into the middle after his performance against Fulham, while Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard also came in. Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Piero Hincapié and Martin Ødegaard dropped to the bench, and Kai Havertz was among the substitutes after recovering from injury concerns.
Arsenal’s lineup was Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, Eze, Trossard and Gyokeres. The bench included Kepa, Setford, Mosquera, Hincapie, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Havertz, Zubimendi and Dowman.
Álvarez starts for Atlético
Atlético Madrid made one change from the first leg, with Robin Le Normand replacing Johnny Cardoso, and Julian Alvarez started despite ankle concerns that kept him out of the weekend game at Valencia. His first-leg equaliser made him the first Atlético Madrid player to reach ten goals in a single Champions League campaign, and he became the fastest Argentinian to 25 goals overall in 41 appearances, one fewer than Lionel Messi needed.
Diego Simeone’s side lined up with Oblak, Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri, Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman, Griezmann and Alvarez. Their substitutes were Musso, Gimenez, Mendoza, Johnny, Sorloth, Baena, Almada, Lenglet, Molina, Vargas, Bonar and Diaz.
Form lines at the Emirates
Arsenal brought strong home and European numbers into the second leg, with just two defeats in their last 23 Champions League matches, 17 wins in that run and only one loss in their last 24 home matches in Europe. Atlético carried a different profile into London: only two wins in their last 13 matches against English teams, four straight away losses against English opposition, and six wins in their last seven European semi-finals.
Arteta told TNT Sports before kickoff, “I have never seen an atmosphere like this … when we entered the stadium … great to see … enthusiasm … [Myles Lewis-Skelly] has played many times in [midfield] … he is very flexible … we need to be very adaptable … very aggressive with the ball … I hope [Bukayo Saka] can maintain the form he showed a few days ago and help us win the game … [Atletico] can manage moments in games … we have prepared … referee decisions are out of our control, let’s hope this time they can get it right … let’s go for it, let’s do it!”
Simeone also drew attention before the match, saying of Atlético’s hotel switch, “The hotel was cheaper.” The visitors stayed at the five-star Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch instead of the four-star Marriott Hotel in Regents Park, another small change around a tie already shaped by a 1-1 first leg and two teams that had arrived with different recent records in Europe.
