Arsenal and Atletico Madrid live: Saka and Eze start their Champions League clash

Arsenal start us off then with Atletico in dark blue away and the Gunners in their usual red and white.

The Champions League anthem is ringing around the Emirates Stadium and we’re on the verge of a matchday three in North London!

Arsenal XI: raya Alwar, Seliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelley; Rice, Zubimandi, Ize; Sacca, Giocres, Martinelli.

Atletico Madrid lineup: Oblock; Llorente, Gimenez, Le Normand, Hanko; Guiliano, Barrios, Koke, Gonzalez; Sorluth, Alvarez.

Arsenal recorded a famous win against a club from Madrid in the Champions League last season. Their victims were Real, not Atlético, but a meeting with the Spanish capital’s other powers provides an opportunity to get the season off to a good start.

Of their six remaining Champions League group games, three look completely winnable, the other three – Atletico, Bayern and Inter – more difficult. But Arsenal currently have six points, the prospect of nine points ahead, and so can only need a couple of those tougher games to finish in the top eight.

Arsenal are one of only two teams – along with Internazionale – not to have conceded a goal in the Champions League this season. The Gunners rank first for xG against (0.85) this term, while they have held their opponents under xG in seven of their 10 league games since the start of last season (0.35 against Athletic Club and 0.5 against Olympiakos this season).

Bokaio Saka has been directly involved in 17 goals (11 goals, 6 assists) in 19 Champions League games. Since making his competitive debut on 20 September 2023, Saka has the second-best minutes per goal of any winger (89-500 minutes), behind Barcelona’s Rafinha (69).

The list of other matches of the European Champions League today is as follows:

(starts at 20:00 BST unless otherwise specified)

Barcelona – Olympiakos (5:45 p.m. local time)

Kairat – Paphos (5.45pm local time)

Villarreal vs Manchester City

Arsenal – Atletico Madrid

Royal Union St. Gilois vs Inter Milan

Atlético Madrid have never won a Champions League group/league stage away to an English side, losing all five attempts to date (W2 L3), including a 4-0 defeat in London (vs Chelsea in October 2009).

Arsenal have won all of their last 6 games against Spanish sides and have beaten four different opponents this term (Real Madrid x2, Sevilla x2, Girona and Athletic Club). This is the longest winning streak by a team against a Spanish opponent in the history of the Champions League.

These two teams have faced each other only twice in UEFA competitions, and these meetings will be held in the Europa League in the 2017/18 season.

The semi-final tie at the Emirates ended 1-1 before Atleti won 1-0 at home to book a place in the final, with the Spanish side eventually beating Marseille to lift the trophy in Lyon.

Arsenal are fifth as one of the six clubs with a perfect record so far, while Atlético are in 10th.

Victor Giocres doesn’t need to score goals to be a “problem” for opposition defences, according to former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.