Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Atletico Madrid: Gunners Give Themselves a Shot at History

Mikel Arteta’s team marginally edged the final four tie on aggregate.

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the second leg. | Vince Mignott/DeFodi Images/Getty Images

Arsenal are into the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years, grinding out a tough semifinal win over Atlético Madrid that finished 2–1 on aggregate.

Mikel Arteta has matched Arsène Wenger as the only other Arsenal manager to lead the club to European soccer’s annual showpiece, but will hope to go one better than the legendary Frenchman’s 2006 team, who were beaten by Barcelona in Paris.

This semifinal was delicately balanced at 1–1 following last week’s first leg in Madrid, handing Arsenal a slight advantage playing the second leg at home.

Bukayo Saka’s rebound goal on the stroke of halftime was decisive on the night, followed by a hard, scrappy defensive performance to see it through.

The Gunners will now meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in Budapest on May 30. That tie will be decided in Munich on Wednesday, with the teams currently separated by a single goal in the aggregate scoreline after last week’s pulsating 5–4 PSG win last week.

---

Two Things We Can’t Ignore

Giuliano Simeone was denied two goals by last-ditch challenges. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Arsenal had to dig deep defensively to win this tie and two big, goal-saving moments stood out in that respect, which could easily have turned the whole outcome.

Just over 10 minutes into the first half, Declan Rice reacted sharply to get a toe to the ball just as Giuliano Simeone was closing in after Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had parried a low cross into a dangerous area.

Even less time into the second half, it was Simeone again who was denied what would by then have been an Atlético equalizer. This time, William Saliba’s poor header allowed the winger to get in on goal, only for Gabriel to do just enough to put him off. Simeone appealed desperately for a penalty after being nudged off balance, but a VAR check confirmed the referee’s decision not to give one.

---

Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Atlético Madrid (4-3-3)

Declan Rice battled hard all night. | Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—8.1: Would have expected more to do. Only needed to make two relatively comfortable saves.

RB: Ben White—7.2: Gave the ball away a little too readily and was weak in his duels.

CB: William Saliba—7.6: One misjudged header almost let Simeone in for an equalizer, but the Frenchman was otherwise very strong.

CB: Gabriel—7.1: A big goal-saving intervention came an important time just after the break.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—6.6: Strong in the air, much less so on the ground. Wanted to get forward.

CM: Declan Rice—7.7: Made a huge goal-saving tackle after 11 minutes and was full of hard running on and off the ball. Really powered his team on.

CM: Myles Lewis-Skelly—6.8: Kept his surprise place from the weekend at the expense of Martín Zubimendi. Took good care of the ball in the middle. Limited offensive impact, aside from one dribble and cross in the first half that connected with no one.

RM: Bukayo Saka—7.8: Increased his minutes again on the road to full match fitness. Struggled to imprint himself on the match prior to scoring. Not that it mattered.

AM: Eberechi Eze—6.7: Atlético quickly closed down the spaces he ideally wanted to play in and that made it difficult to have an impact.

LM: Leandro Trossard—7.7: Tried to con a penalty with a soft fall under pressure from Antoine Griezmann in the first half, but played a big role in Arsenal taking the lead.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—5.7: Worked hard with his running in the channels, one instance of which indirectly helped Arsenal get ahead. But that only gets you so much credit as the marquee No. 9, because a gilt-edged chance to put the tie to bed in the second half was squandered.

SUB: Piero Hincapié (58’ for Calafiori)—6.6: Like for like swap at left back.

SUB: Martin Ødegaard (58’ Eze)—6.8: Not deemed fit enough to start.

SUB: Noni Madueke (59’ for Saka)—6.7: Saka could only manage an hour.

SUB: Martín Zubimendi (74’ for Lewis-Skelly)—6.2: Provided fresh legs in midfield.

SUB: Gabriel Martinelli (83’ for Trossard)—N/A

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Max Dowman, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz.

---

What These Ratings Tell Us

Viktor Gyökeres grafted but lacked the quality he was signed to give. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

• Arsenal still need more from Viktor Gyökeres. The Swede was praised over the weekend because his brace against Fulham took him to 21 goals for the season. A willingness to run for the benefit of his teammates and an ability to score from the penalty spot aside, open play goals against elite opposition remain a serious problem. Strikers who cost $86 million (£63.5 million) cannot get by on graft and stat padding alone. In the end, his miss was not costly.
• Myles Lewis-Skelly probably isn’t the answer in midfield … not yet, anyway. Although originally a midfielder, the homegrown talent has spent most of his senior career at left back. At the age of 19, time is still on his side, as long as he remains an Arsenal player.

---

The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Historic Night

• This wasn’t a game of many chances. There were only two shots on target in the first half, both of which came in the same passage of play that saw Arsenal score right before halftime. Even after the break, it was defense dominated. The Gunners didn’t test Jan Oblak again.
• Arsenal deserved the win. The xG values reflected accurately reflected the final scoreline and it wasn’t like Atlético peppered David Raya with shots and deserved more.

Statistic	Arsenal	Atlético Madrid
Possession	53%	47%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.58	0.53
Total Shots	13	9
Shots on Target	2	2
Big Chances	2	1
Pass Accuracy	85%	83%
Fouls Committed	10	13
Corners	5	2

---