Watch the moment an Arsenal penalty for a foul on Eberechi Eze by Atletico Madrid’s David Hancko is overturned by VAR in their Champions League first-leg tie.
How to watch Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid: TV channel, live stream and kick-off time – The Mirror
Everything you need to know about Arsenal’s most important game of the season so far
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Bukayo Saka could be back from injury to help Arsenal during their crunch match with Atletico Madrid(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Kick-off time: Arsenal vs Atletico is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time tonight, April 29. It’s the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, giving Mikel Arteta’s side their first chance to secure a place in the final, against either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich, depending on how their matches end. The French and German sides faced off for their first leg last night in a barn storming match which Paris won 5-4.
Match location: Arsenal vs Atletico will take place at the Spanish club’s home ground, the state-of-the-art Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid.
Why is the game important? Despite a packed trophy cabinet, Arsenal has never won the Champions League. Ensuring a good showing away from home will put them in a good position for the second leg, which will be held at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday, May 5 at 8pm.
UK TV channel: Live coverage of the game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max. The official broadcast coverage begins at 7pm, with an hour of pre-match analysis and team news before kick off.
Live stream information: TNT Sports is no longer streamed on the Discovery+ app. Instead, viewers who want to stream the game must download the HBO Max app and sign in.
UK radio coverage: Live commentary will be provided by BBC Radio 5 Live on national radio across the UK. Meanwhile, local coverage and fan-focused audio commentary can also be accessed through the official Arsenal app and the club’s website.
Team news is largely based around injuries: Both teams have their own injury worries after intense home league seasons and some full-on games earlier in the tournament. There is a glimmer of hope for the Gunners, with Bukayo Saka potentially fit enough to stage a return, having come off the bench for the team’s recent Newcastle game.Meanwhile Diego Simeone’s men, who knocked out Barcelona to take their place in the semi-finals are no longer in contention for the La Liga title so are expected to be going all out for the trophy here. The side could be without midfield star Pablo Barrios who was injured during a match at the weekend against Athletic Bilbao.
Head-to-head record: On previous form, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid seem fairly evenly matched. In five games played since 2009, Atletico has won one, Arsenal won two and two were draws.
What happens if Arsenal and Atletico tie? Because it’s the first leg there’s no need for extra time if the match ends with one team ahead of the other.
Do away goals count for more? The away goals rule for Champions League games is no longer in effect, meaning there’s no difference when calculating the aggregate depending on where the goal was scored. If at the end of the ninety minutes of the second the teams are equal, this will send the tie directly into extra time. If the aggregate score remains level after thirty minutes of extra time, a penalty shootout will be the final decider on which team advances to the final.
Who: Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal What: Champions League semifinal, first leg Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain When: Wednesday, April 29 at 9pm (19:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Arsenal’s record as the only unbeaten football team in this season’s Champions League will be tested in the intense atmosphere of the Metropolitano Stadium.
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The Gunners have conceded just five goals in 12 games so far, the kind of record associated with Atletico during coach Diego Simeone’s long reign of feisty football.
But this is a more expansive Atletico side, with a surprising 26 goals conceded in 14 Champions League games this season, while Julian Alvarez has scored nine of the 34 scored at the other end.
The two teams have already faced off this season, but Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Atletico in October in the league stage feels a long time ago. A four-goal burst in 15 second-half minutes, including two from Viktor Gyokeres, showed a freedom that Mikel Arteta’s team has found hard to recapture in a tense second half of the season.
Arsenal have endured a rocky patch recently – losing to Man City in the League Cup final, and in a key league game – but maintain a three-point lead at the top of the table, although City have a game in hand.
The hosts, meanwhile, are fourth in La Liga, and the Champions League represents their last hope of silverware this season after defeat in last weekend’s Copa del Rey final.
Atletico’s path to the semifinals has been taking first-leg leads – ambushing Tottenham at home then winning at Barcelona – before riding out severe pressure in the return game. That will be in London on Tuesday next week.
Atleti coach Diego Simeone said, “We’re heading into the semifinals with all our enthusiasm and all our faith. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have great confidence in what we do. We’re ready, and we’re going to go after what we’ve been chasing for many years.”
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said, “It’s a massive moment [to reach consecutive semi-finals]. It’s the first time in our history, in 140 years – to be part of those four teams is something very special. You have to earn it. You have to go through a lot of work.”
What have the players said?
Atleti forward Antoine Griezmann said, “It doesn’t matter who we face as long as we’re still in it. It’s been a great and tough tie [against Barcelona] against a fantastic team that plays very well. It was a struggle, but we’re still in it.”
Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli noted, “We believe in ourselves, we know the quality we have. We won against them in the league phase, but it’s going to be a completely different game.”
How did Atletico reach the semifinals?
Atletico Madrid sent 10-man Barcelona crashing out of the Champions League and reached the final four with a 3-2 aggregate victory, despite a 2-1 quarterfinal second-leg defeat.
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres fired visitors Barca ahead inside 24 minutes, but Ademola Lookman’s strike gave Atletico the edge in the gripping all-Spanish tie after their 2-0 win in the first leg.
Ademola Lookman celebrates scoring Atletico’s first goal with teammates [Angel Martinez/Getty Images]
How did Arsenal reach the semifinals?
Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory.
Mikel Arteta’s team were well below their best in the quarterfinal second leg at the Emirates Stadium, but they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay.
Head-to-head
The two clubs have only faced each other on three occasions, with each winning one game and one match ending as a draw.
Before meeting this season, the previews encounter ended up being the last European tie for former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
October 21, 2025: Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid (Champions League, league stage)
May 03, 2018: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Arsenal (Europa League semifinal)
April 26, 2018: Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid (Europa League semifinal)
What happened when they last played each other?
Arsenal thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 back in October thanks to a devastating second-half broadside at the Emirates Stadium in a Champions League league-stage clash.
What had been a compelling clash with little between the sides in the first half became an Arsenal rout, with goals by Gabriel, Martinelli and a brace from Gyokeres leaving Simeone’s side shell-shocked.
Viktor Gyokeres scores Arsenal’s fourth goal against Atletico [Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via Reuters]
Have either side ever won the European Cup/Champions League?
Neither side have ever been European champions.
Atletico reached the final in 2014 and 2016, and were beaten on both occasions by archrivals Real Madrid.
Arsenal reached the final in 2006, but were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.
Atletico’s team news
Midfielder Pablo Barrios is set to miss the game and will be out for about a month after sustaining a thigh injury against Bilbao.
Lookman was not named in the squad for the weekend game after picking up a knock in the Copa del Rey final defeat by Real Sociedad, but may return for the Arsenal game.
Defender David Hancko is also expected to remain unavailable due to an injury.
Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze were both forced off with muscles issues in the win over Newcastle – Eze subsequently said he came off as a precaution and is “fine”, but Havertz is a doubt.
Midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who was taken off at half-time against Newcastle, will also face a late assessment.
Riccardo Calafiori is still recovering from a knock and is a major doubt, while Jurrien Timber has been out with a groin issue for about a month and is likely still some way from making a full recovery.
Mikel Merino is definitely unavailable as he recovers from surgery on an ankle injury.
Match of the Day’s Steph Houghton and Martin Keown explain how Arsenal and Eberechi Eze outfoxed Newcastle United with a tweak to their set-piece routine in their 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal would move six points clear of second-placed Manchester City if they beat Fulham in their home game next week, though City, who were in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, would have two games in hand.
That is because Manchester City were playing in the FA Cup semi-final earlier on Saturday against Southampton and are not back in league action until Monday, 4 May when they play Everton.
Having that buffer of points built up by the time of City’s next game at Everton on Monday 4 May would be a huge boost for Arteta’s side given they went into this weekend off the top for the first time since October.
According to Opta, Arsenal have a 72.44% chance of lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season compared to the 27.56% chance of Manchester City.
“You can’t question their fight. Arsenal have given absolutely everything on that pitch today,” former Crystal Palace and Brighton striker Glenn Murray said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Another huge three points for Arsenal to keep them top of the league.”
Arsenal are without a major trophy since the FA Cup triumph of 2020 which came in Arteta’s first season in charge.
And captain Martin Odegaard said that the effort the players put in is because every member of the team is doing what they can to get over the line.
“It was tough, very intense, very physical,” he told Sky Sports. “We did everything we could and we got the win, the most important thing was to bounce back with a win and get over the line with the three points.”
But for Odegaard, who played the full 90 minutes, and the rest of the squad attention quickly switches to the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
“This schedule is crazy,” Odegaard added. “We just have to keep going. It is the end of the season, just leave everything out that we have inside, fight every single game and we just have to keep going.
“That’s where we want to be but it is going to go all the way to the end. We are ready for it and we will fight every single day.”
