Diego Simeone Reveals 'Options' Ahead of Arsenal Clash Following Betis Stalemate

Diego Simeone insisted his side are heading into the first leg of their crunch Europa League tie with Arsenal on Thursday evening in good form despite being winless in two following their goalless draw with Real Betis on Sunday evening. 

A heavily rotated Atletico Madrid matched Beticos for the most part, with the visitors to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano taking the initiative during prolonged spells of both halves. 

However, the Argentine trusted a selection squad players to counteract the in-form Andalusians, with Fernando Torres, Vitolo and Saul Niguez all starting from the outset, and he told Marca post-match that it has given them a solid platform to work from. 

"The team is heading into Thursday's game really well," Simeone intimated. "We made important changes and the players responded, I had to rotate to ensure we had fresh players.

"That's why I gave Vitolo, Fernando Torres, Correa and Saul more minutes. I expect everyone to have enough match fitness by Thursday.

"My selection in London depends on what goes through my head on Wednesday, as well as my heart. I may use three central defenders in London, why not? We also have Angel Correa as an option, we definitely have choices."

Betis headed into the Spanish capital showdown on the back of matching the club's longest ever winning streak; six consecutive matches, however, Simeone was pleased with his side's resilience to halt Quique Setien's aggressive attacking force. 

"Our objective was to match them on the flanks against Barragan and Junior,", he stated. "We had pressure situations, although they took advantage of some counter attacks.

"It was a competitive match in which both teams had shooting situations, only being solid helped us get the 0-0."