GYöKERES ENDS DROUGHT AS RUTHLESS ARSENAL COMPLETELY DESTROY HELPLESS ATLETICO MADRID
Arsenal dominated Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League. Gabriel, Martinelli, and a Gyokeres brace seal a commanding win, sending the Gunners to 9 points and top of the group with a formidable defensive display.
Before Gyokeres snapped his nine-game goal drought in a 13-minute burst either side of the hour, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli opened the floodgates.
As the only teams with nine points from their first three games, the Premier League leaders are also comfortably positioned at the top of the Champions League standings, alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, the finalists from the previous season.
During the Gunners' incredible start to the season, Mikel Arteta had very few concerns about Gyokeres' lack of goals.
The Swede, who joined from Sporting Lisbon to help Arsenal finally have a clinical number nine, had only scored three goals in his previous 11 outings, against Nottingham Forest and Leeds at home.
Diego Simeone will be concerned at the way Atletico collapsed during a competitive first hour, since the Spanish team is yet to win away from home this season.
Arsenal has only given up three goals in their last 12 games across all competitions this season after keeping another clean sheet.
Julian Alvarez had two chances to give the visitors the lead. He missed a bad clearing by David Raya in the first half and struck the bar from beyond the box early in the second half.
In Arsenal's greatest shot of the first half, Eberechi Eze's deflected drive also missed the woodwork.
However, Arteta's players were able to create the breakthrough by using their strength from set pieces, as has been the case so frequently in recent years.
A superbly weighted in-swinging free kick from Declan Rice allowed the stooping Gabriel to head the ball into the bottom corner.
The only two changes Arteta made from Saturday's 1-0 victory at Fulham were the recall of Myles Lewis Skelly at left-back.
The England international, who has spent the majority of the season playing second fiddle to Riccardo Calafiori, demonstrated Arteta's abundance of alternatives with a strong run to set up the second goal.
Martinelli scored his third goal in as many Champions League games after Lewis Skelly found him and he curled it into the far corner.
Gyokeres then had the stroke of luck he needed to break his goalless streak as his close-range attempt bounced off David Hancko, leaving Jan Oblak defenceless.
Three minutes later, as Gabriel once more won the first header to Rice's corner, Gyokeres scored from much closer.
With an eye toward Sunday's Premier League visit from Crystal Palace, Arteta could afford to bench Gabriel, Gyokeres, Eze, Jurrien Timber, and Martin Zubimendi in the closing minutes.
Last season, before falling to eventual winners PSG, Arsenal advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since 2009.
After another summer of significant transfer market spending, the Gunners seem even more formidable as they look to win Europe for the first time in the club's existence.
Atletico has only three points from their first three games, and they were also defeated at Liverpool last month during their last trip to England.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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