Arsenal Too Hot to Handle as They Smash Four Past Atletico Madrid at the Emirates

Arsenal continued their flawless Champions League run with a commanding 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. Viktor Gyökeres ended his nine-game goal drought in emphatic style, scoring twice in a second-half surge that left the Spanish side stunned. Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli also found the net in a 13-minute goal spree that secured Arsenal’s third consecutive win in Europe this season.

The Gunners, currently leading the Premier League, now share the top spot in the Champions League standings with Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, each team holding a perfect nine points from their opening three matches.

How Did Arsenal Break Atletico’s Resistance?

For much of the first half, Atletico looked capable of frustrating Mikel Arteta’s side. Julian Alvarez had two chances to give the visitors the lead but failed to capitalize, once striking the bar after intercepting a poor clearance from David Raya. Arsenal’s best effort came when Eberechi Eze’s deflected strike rattled the woodwork.

But after the break, Arsenal’s dominance came to life. As they have so often done this season, the Gunners turned to their reliable set-piece strategy to open the scoring. Declan Rice delivered a perfectly weighted in-swinging free kick that found Gabriel, who powered a header into the bottom corner.

Moments later, Myles Lewis-Skelly, recalled at left-back, showcased Arsenal’s depth and creativity. His sharp drive down the flank set up Martinelli, who curled the ball beautifully into the far corner for his third Champions League goal in as many games.

Gyökeres Finds His Form as Arsenal Run Riot

The breakthrough seemed to unlock Arsenal’s attack completely. Gyökeres finally found his touch when his close-range shot took a deflection off David Hancko, wrong-footing Jan Oblak to make it 3-0. Just three minutes later, the Swedish striker added his second, reacting quickest to a loose ball after Gabriel’s header from another Rice corner.

“It’s been a while, but we’ve been winning games, so in that part it’s been a great couple of months,” Gyökeres said after the match. “Of course, as a striker, you want to score goals. Great to score two goals and to get this win because it shows where we’re at.”

Mikel Arteta praised his forward’s resilience, saying, “Hopefully it’s the start of some beautiful sequence now. That’s what we brought him here for. His demands on himself are really high, but we value a lot of the things that he does for the team.”

By Yockshard Enyendi