Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has delivered a brutally honest verdict after his side were smashed 4–0 by Arsenal in the Champions League, admitting the Gunners are “the best team we’ve faced this season.”
The Spanish side held their own for the first 45 minutes, but Arsenal exploded after the break, ripping Atletico apart with four goals in just 13 minutes.
Gabriel Magalhaes started the carnage with a thumping header from Declan Rice’s cross. Gabriel Martinelli doubled the lead moments later after a dazzling solo run from teenage sensation Myles Lewis-Skelly. Then Viktor Gyökeres came alive, firing home twice in quick succession to seal an unforgettable night at the Emirates.
Simeone could only hold his hands up after the final whistle.
“Yes, I would say the best team we have faced this season,” he told Amazon Prime. “They compete so well, their players run and run and they have quality all over the pitch. They deserved to win today and I want to congratulate them.”
The Atletico coach admitted his side simply couldn’t live with Arsenal’s second-half intensity.
“From 60 minutes they were the better team and deserved to win. We have to put this behind us and keep improving.”
Even Atletico defender David Hancko was full of admiration, and frustration.
“It was a very tough game. You can expect this because they’re one of the best teams in the world right now, definitely,” Hancko told UEFA. “Personally I was up against Bukayo [Saka], which is always a big challenge. It was close at half-time, we were able to defend their set pieces and they’re the best in the world at them right now. In the second half, suddenly they went 1–0 up, from a set piece. Suddenly in five minutes it was 3–0. It just shows you how good they are, you cannot stop even for one second.”
For Arsenal, it was another statement performance under Mikel Arteta, sending a clear message to Europe: the Gunners aren’t just competing, they’re dominating.
