Arsenal turned a balanced European night into a rout, beating Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League league phase at the Emirates. Gabriel’s set-piece header broke the match open just before the hour, Gabriel Martinelli doubled the lead soon after, and Viktor Gyökeres struck twice in four minutes to close out a commanding home performance.
Arsenal’s first half lacked only the finish. Eberechi Eze clipped the crossbar early and Bukayo Saka isolated his full-back repeatedly, while a Martinelli tap-in was ruled offside. Atletico threatened sporadically on the break and Julián Álvarez rattled the bar from distance after the interval, but most of the play belonged to Mikel Arteta’s side.
The breakthrough arrived from a familiar source. Martinelli won a free kick on the left and Declan Rice bent an inswinging delivery to the penalty spot. Gabriel attacked it and headed down across Jan Oblak for 1-0 on 56 minutes. It was Arsenal’s ninth set-piece goal of the season and the goal that released the tension.
Eight minutes later, the hosts had the cushion their play deserved. Myles Lewis-Skelly carried through midfield and slipped a well-weighted pass to Martinelli on the left. The Brazilian opened his body and placed a measured finish inside the far post for 2-0.
The final act belonged to Gyökeres. First, the Sweden international reacted quickest to a loose ball at the edge of the area, his shot taking a deflection on its way past Oblak for 3-0 on 68 minutes. Moments later, Rice’s corner was headed back across goal by Gabriel and Gyökeres turned in from close range for 4-0. Gabriel’s momentum carried him into the advertising boards; he was almost the last person in the ground to realise the ball had crossed the line.
Atletico stirred late. Rio Nwaneri, on for a lively cameo, cleared from under his own bar after an Álex Baena cross-shot and Oblak denied the teenager at the other end in stoppage time. By then the contest had slipped away. Reported post-match, the margin equalled the heaviest Champions League defeat in Atletico’s history.
Arsenal’s control had clear pillars. Rice’s dead-ball quality decided the key moments, Saka and Martinelli pinned Atletico’s full-backs back throughout, and Gabriel provided dominance in both penalty areas. A first-half booking for Martin Zubimendi means he will miss the next league-phase match at Slavia Prague, but that was the night’s only blemish.
Arsenal remain perfect in the league phase and add a statement win to their early-season file. Atletico depart with little complaint: for much of the evening they survived rather than competed, and once the first goal went in the gap widened quickly.
