Arsenal took on Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in Madrid on Wednesday night, with the game kicking off at 8pm BST at the Metropolitano.
Martin Ødegaard said Arsenal will keep carrying the burden of criticism until they win something, but argued the side are ready to turn recent pain into silverware. “It’s always going to be there until we win and that’s something you have to live with,” he said, adding that the squad must take their experiences and lessons and use them well.
That matters because Arsenal arrived in Madrid still haunted by last season’s exit in the Champions League semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain, and by three straight Premier League runner-up finishes. They were also top of the table and chasing a first league title since 2004, which leaves every knockout tie and every title run carrying the same pressure.
The numbers underline why this semi-final felt different from the usual grind of Atlético under Diego Simeone. Arsenal’s 12 Champions League games this season had produced 27 goals and only five conceded, while Atlético’s 14 matches had delivered 60 goals. Yellow cards were wiped going into the semi-finals, and that changed the edge of the contest before a ball was kicked.
Simeone, who turned 56 on Tuesday, was leading Atlético into his fourth European Cup semi-final, with the club in its seventh overall and their first at this stage in nine years. His own connection to the club runs back to December 2004, when he bade farewell to the Vicente Calderón as a player carrying his youngest son Giuliano in his arms before returning to Madrid as coach in December 2011.
He greeted the occasion with the kind of raw emotion that has long defined his years in charge. “Buah! You can’t imagine how good it is to be in the four best teams in Europe,” he said, while also brushing aside the birthday milestone with gratitude for being surrounded by family and lifelong friends.
Arsenal had already faced Atlético earlier in the season, welcoming them in the third round of league phase matches, so this meeting carried a familiar edge as well as a place in history. For Ødegaard, the challenge is as much about reputation as result: Arsenal may still be judged by what they have not yet won, but this is the season they are trying to change that story.