Arsenal defeated Atlético Madrid 4–0 at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to remain perfect through three games in the Champions League.
A first half that started excitingly lacked end product for both sides. The second half, particularly a 13-minute period from the hosts, flipped the script as the Gunners scored four goals—the opener notably from a set piece. The Gunners’ not-so-secret weapon yielded results once again as Declan Rice found Gabriel with a dangerous in-swinger to break the deadlock.
From there, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyökeres put the game to bed with three goals between them. Another statement defencive performance from a side that remains hard to break down at the back. Through 12 games in all competitions, Arsenal have conceded just three goals. They limited their opponent on the night to just one shot on target.
In the attacking department, getting their big money striker firing again will come as a boost as well. The expectations for this team will continue to build as long as they continue securing results like this.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Atlético Madrid (4-2-3-1)
GK: David Raya—7.8: Nearly had a nightmare in the first half roaming well outside of his penalty area, but was not made to pay.
RB: Jurriën Timber—7.6: Active all night down the right flank, Timber remains key to the Arsenal defence.
CB: William Saliba—7.1: Had a physical battle with Alexander Sørloth throughout the night.
CB: Gabriel—8.5: A goal, an assist and a clean sheet for the Brazilian defender. Can’t ask for more that.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—8.2: Was less of a chaos agent than Riccardo Calafiori has proven, but did well to assist Martinelli for the second goal.
DM: Martín Zubimendi—7.9: Kept things ticking, but a third yellow card in as many Champions League matches sees him suspended for a trip to Slavia Praha.
DM: Declan Rice—7.9: Rice against Pablo Barrios was one of the most interesting duels of the match. The English midfielder assisted Gabriel for the opener.
AM: Eberechi Eze—7.1: Struggled to have a massive impact in midfield, but tried to create danger in the first half.
RW: Bukayo Saka—7.5: Got the better of Hancko early, but lacked end product in the first half. Most play in the first 45 went through him.
ST: Viktor Gyökeres—9.0: His goals won’t end up on a highlight reel, but he needed to score after blanking recently. Continued to work hard softening up the centre backs.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli—8.2: Another strong performance from Martinelli early in the season, especially in the Champions League.
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Piero Hincapié, Riccardo Calafiori, Leandro Trossard
Atlético Madrid (4-4-2)
Starting XI: Jan Oblak (GK); Marcos Llorente, José María Giménez, Robin Le Normand, Dávid Hancko; Giuliano Simeone, Pablo Barrios, Koke, Nicolás González; Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sørloth.
Subs used: Matteo Ruggeri, Álex Baena, Conor Gallagher, Antoine Griezmann, Thiago Almada
Player of the Match: Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal)
Arsenal 4–0 Atlético Madrid—How It Unfolded at Emirates Stadium
Arteta took the proverbial handbrake off with his starting XI opting for Eze and Martinelli. Timber had a couple moments early to threaten the Atléti defence, but could not get his final decision right.
Eze nearly got a fortunate deflection from a shot outside the box as well, but was denied by the crossbar. Lewis-Skelly got lucky to avoid a booking early after coming together with Giuliano Simeone as the visitors looked to break on the counter.
Through 20 minutes Atléti had struggled to put together multiple sustained periods of possession. The few opportunities they found themselves in the final third Arsenal’s defence did well to snuff out any danger. David Raya nearly made a fatal error in the 25th minute on a loose ball near his left corner flag, but Julián Alvarez’s long-range effort went wide. The Argentine was popping up all over the attacking third looking to get the ball and create a difference.
Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net in the 36th minute after some strong work from Zubimendi and Saka, but Martinelli’s effort was ruled out for offside. Zubimendi was shown a yellow card shortly thereafter resulting in his suspension for Arsenal’s next Champions League clash having picked up three in three matches. Uncharacteristically, Arsenal only had one corner by the end of the first half.
Alvarez rattled the crossbar shortly coming out of the tunnel in the second half sending another warning to the Gunners of the Argentine’s danger. Though, it was Arsenal’s superpower that led to the opener. Declan Rice played a dangerous in-swinging free kick which Gabriel met with his head to beat Oblak.
As soon as that goal went in, the intensity of the match increased. The Gunners did well to deny Atléti an equaliser before adding another of their own. Lewis-Skelly went on an adventurous run through midfield before picking out Gabriel Martinelli who opened his hips and curled it past Oblak. Viktor Gyökeres, while not the prettiest goals, added two more in three minutes to put the game to bed.
The Swede did not get a chance to complete his hat-trick coming off in the 83rd minute.
In total, four goals in 13 minutes kept Arsenal perfect through three European matchdays. They have yet to concede a goal in the competition.
Arsenal vs. Atlético Madrid Half-Time Stats
Arsenal vs. Atlético Madrid Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Atletico Madrid: Gunners Blitz Simeone to Stay Perfect.
