Arsenal and Atlético Madrid Name XIs at 8pm — Where To Watch Arsenal F.c. Vs Atlético Madrid

Arsenal and Atlético Madrid named their starting XIs for where to watch arsenal f.c. vs atlético madrid at the Emirates Stadium, with kick-off set for 8pm BST. The tie was level at 1-1 after the first leg, so the lineups carried real weight before a Champions League semi-final second leg.

Arteta Brings In Lewis-Skelly

Mikel Arteta made five changes from Arsenal’s first-leg team. Myles Lewis-Skelly started after his midfield performance against Fulham, while Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard also came into the XI. Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Piero Hincapié and Martin Ødegaard dropped to the bench.

Arsenal lined up with Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, Eze, Trossard and Gyokeres. Kai Havertz was among the substitutes after injury concerns, leaving Arteta with a bench option rather than a starter for the match that had been set up by the 1-1 first leg.

Alvarez Starts For Atlético Madrid

Atlético Madrid made one change from their first-leg starting XI, with Robin Le Normand replacing Johnny Cardoso. Diego Simeone kept Julian Alvarez in the side after the striker was taken off with an injured ankle in the first leg and then missed the weekend game at Valencia.

Alvarez’s equaliser in the opening leg made him the first Atlético player to score ten goals in a single Champions League campaign. He also became the fastest Argentinian to reach 25 goals overall, getting there in 41 appearances, one fewer than Lionel Messi needed to hit the same mark. Atlético’s starting XI was Oblak, Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri, Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman, Griezmann and Alvarez.

Holloway And Simeone

Both teams arrived at the Emirates in team buses through a crowd in Holloway. Atlético stayed at the five-star Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch instead of the four-star Marriott Hotel in Regents Park, a change Simeone summed up in three words: “The hotel was cheaper.”

Arteta said, “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!”