Arsenal welcome Atletico Madrid to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash on Tuesday at 8pm (UK time).
The Gunners will fancy their chances of reaching a second ever Champions League final having claimed a 1-1 draw in Madrid last week. However, Atletico Madrid won’t be mere pushovers in London.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Atletico Madrid
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Mikel Arteta’s side are back on track having followed up their recent 1-0 win over Newcastle and 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid with a 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday afternoon. The north London side will hope for a repeat of their last home meeting with Atleti.
The Premier League outfit ran out 4-0 winners over the La Liga giants back in October.
Arsenal team news vs Atletico Madrid
Bukayo Saka made his first competitive start since the EFL Cup final in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham. The winger was withdrawn at the break but impressed upon his return to the starting XI, following up his early assist for Viktor Gyokeres with a goal of his own.
Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard played no part against Fulham. However, there is hope the duo may return to first-team action here. Martin Zubimendi is expected to reclaim his starting midfield spot at Myles Lewis-Skelly’s expense.
Should the former duo fail to recover here, then expect Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze to feature in attack and midfield, respectively.
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Riccardo Calafiori made his first appearance in almost a month against Fulham, and the Italian may get the nod ahead of Piero Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino both continue to miss out for the Gunners.
The importance of Saka’s return
Bukayo Saka marked his return to the Arsenal starting XI in style at Fulham’s expense at the weekend. Saka featured from the outset for the first time since the EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City in March, and shone from the get-go.
In the process, he became the fourth youngest player to make 200 Premier League starts, following in the footsteps of Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. And the England international provided the assist for Gyokeres ninth-minute strike following some fine work down the right.
Shortly before the break and Saka scored his first and Arsenal’s second before his half-time withdrawal in preparation for Tuesday’s game against Atletico.
Fact is, Arsenal looked far more threatening with Saka back in the side. His return to fitness is a huge boost as the Gunners hunt down a first European trophy.
In the Premier League this season alone, their win ratio rises from 50% to 73.9% when he starts. Goals scored per game increases from 1.71 to 2.67 in the Champions League. Their chances of success rises significantly now Saka is back available.