{"id":18423,"date":"2026-05-07T06:09:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/18423\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T06:09:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:09:43","slug":"the-three-crucial-changes-behind-arsenals-transformative-champions-league-victory-over-atletico-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/18423\/","title":{"rendered":"The three crucial changes behind Arsenal\u2019s transformative Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By the time the Arsenal<\/a> players eventually got back to their dressing room, unable to stop embracing each other and thumping the air in delight, Mikel Arteta<\/a> barely said a thing. He knew he didn\u2019t need to, but he also knew he probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to get a word in if he tried. There was too much joy, too many people jumping around. It was all about the \u201cfeeling\u201d, as Arteta put it.<\/p>\n

The same was true of the 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid itself. Arsenal were obviously tactically drilled and primed, but they were also well aware that the key to this match was a willingness to fight. The feeling. <\/p>\n

Diego Simeone<\/a>\u2019s side may not have the most potent attack \u2013 some among Arteta\u2019s staff were actually surprised that Julian Alvarez even played, given the first-leg injury and how he limped \u2013 but they can drag anyone into a battle and make you go deep.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they compete,\u201d Arteta purred afterwards. \u201cThe answer they immediately have to everything that you try to do to them. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Basque\u2019s enthusiasm for that may further inform the ongoing discussion about styles, Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain and what the contrast between the eventual finalists will say about the wider game. By then, though, Arsenal might look very different, something comparable to the more complete side that beat Bayern 3-1 back in November.<\/p>\n

They already feel different. They feel like Champions League finalists.<\/a><\/p>\n

That is no small thing, given it\u2019s the stage every player wants to be on, to even have that chance of glory. By the time they get there, they may even be English champions<\/a>, for the first time in 22 years. <\/p>\n

And this win may help. It is the other effect of an achievement like this, immense as it is on its own terms. A season filled with \u201cangst\u201d \u2013 to repeat a word so commonly used about this campaign \u2013 now has a sense of assurance. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s an end destination. Arsenal know they\u2019re going somewhere; in this case, to Budapest. The meaning of that could be seen in Riccardo Calafiori jumping into the air at the final whistle and Gabriel sinking to his knees.<\/p>\n

\"AtleticoAtletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone pointed to Arsenal\u2019s financial heft (Reuters)<\/p>\n

The mood from two weeks ago, and especially just before the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City<\/a>, is completely transformed. A wave of positivity is now rushing through the club. To think the supporters were suffering just two and a half weeks ago, when they lost in this same stadium against Bournemouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look to the supporters now and they are just immensely proud and happy,\u201d Arteta said. \u201cThat\u2019s when our job makes sense because many other times it\u2019s difficult to find the right reason why we do what we do, but when these things happen, then everything that we do obviously is worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

They still have to go and actually win something, but now it doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s the same sense of toil about that. \u201cEverybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything,\u201d Arteta said. That\u2019s not just psychological.<\/p>\n

One of the most striking things about the victory over Atletico, and arguably one of the main reasons for it, was Arsenal\u2019s strength in depth. After months of injury problems, they now have almost everyone back fully fit. One insider pointed to how crucial Kai Havertz is to Arteta\u2019s pressing, to the point he\u2019s been viewed as almost indispensable over the past few weeks. And yet here he couldn\u2019t even get on, because Arsenal had too many options.<\/p>\n

\"BukayoBukayo Saka scored the crucial goal to send them into the final (Getty)<\/p>\n

That could end up being the difference in everything. Diego Simeone was conscious of it, not least in trying to plan for the various stages of the game. The Argentine typically tried to ratchet up the tension<\/a> beforehand to turn the game into a fight, but Arsenal were appreciative of how magnanimous he was once hostilities ceased. It\u2019s all part of the game.<\/p>\n

Even Simeone referenced that his team \u201cdid compete at an incredible level against a team with much stronger financial power than us\u201d. The difference was witnessed in the benches. While Atletico struggled to create once Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann went off, Arsenal just had more options. It\u2019s the difference between the super clubs and the rest, the key difference in the modern game.<\/p>\n

Arsenal, of course, know it from the other side, having had to go toe to toe against Manchester City. They have kept persevering, though, as personified by two key players on the night. <\/p>\n

Arteta made sure to praise Viktor Gyokeres. He rose to the occasion after a season in which he\u2019s often been criticised. The manager then talked at length about Myles Lewis-Skelly, who may well end up being seen as a real difference at an absolutely crucial period.<\/p>\n

His sudden return to midfield has restored an energy to Arsenal when they needed it most; when he needed it most. The teenager was used so infrequently this season that talk had arisen over whether this boyhood Arsenal fan may have to leave the club. He can now suddenly be hopeful of a World Cup place.<\/p>\n

Arteta again put the shift down to \u201ca feeling\u201d. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve been tough on him. I talked, and he has been very persistent and consistent in his behaviours and in the manner that he\u2019s been knocking on the door constantly to have the right to play. And I think he deserves it, and that\u2019s why he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MylesMyles Lewis-Skelly is among the players brought in to make a difference in the latter part of the season (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Next, Arsenal have to go and play West Ham United on Sunday. They\u2019ve had a great week so far. Fulham were dispatched with ease, in an expansive manner that sparked a resurgence. Manchester City unexpectedly dropped two points at Everton, to cede the initiative in the title race at this crucial stage of the season. Arsenal then returned to the European stage they\u2019ve long dreamt of.<\/p>\n

It can still go wrong. They still have to go and win something. The sense is rising that their title prospects may well come down to what happens at the London Stadium, given the remaining fixtures.<\/p>\n

Duly, once he\u2019d requested that the huge speakers in the dressing room put on \u201cthat TikTok song\u201d, as has become disparaged, Arteta did have one final word. \u201cLet\u2019s go and win on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insider access, exclusive analysis, and behind-the-scenes gossip \u2013 sign up for Miguel Delaney\u2019s Inside Football newsletter now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[8536,9520,179,7414,10187,6278,5442,2383,5441,9515,82,6279,10186,5448,10189,9221,8537,1743,10188,314,5446,3443,9519,1236,841,8538],"class_list":{"0":"post-18423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-arsenal-f-c","9":"tag-arsenal-stadium-highbury","10":"tag-atletico-madrid","11":"tag-bukayo-saka","12":"tag-celebration","13":"tag-club-soccer","14":"tag-color-image","15":"tag-england","16":"tag-horizontal","17":"tag-london-england","18":"tag-madrid","19":"tag-match-sport","20":"tag-motion","21":"tag-photography","22":"tag-scoring-a-goal","23":"tag-second-leg","24":"tag-semifinal-round","25":"tag-soccer","26":"tag-soccer-player","27":"tag-sport","28":"tag-sports-team","29":"tag-stadium","30":"tag-the-emirates-stadium","31":"tag-uefa-champions-league","32":"tag-uk","33":"tag-union-of-european-football-associations"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}