Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal: Head-to-head record and past meetings

Arsenal travel to Estadio Metropolitano to take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday night.

The Gunners progressed to the final four after edging past Sporting Lisbon 1-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, while they most recently beat Newcastle United 1-0 in the Premier League to re-establish their three-point advantage at the top of the table over rivals Man City.

As for Atleti, they beat Spanish rivals Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to reach the UCL semi-finals, and they won by the same scoreline over 90 minutes last weekend to beat Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, consolidating fourth spot in the table.

Ahead of Wednesday's intriguing showdown, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 3

Arsenal wins: 1

Draws: 1

Atletico Madrid wins: 1

Meeting in the Champions League for the first time in the 2025-26 season, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid's only previous competitive battles came in the semi-finals of the 2017-18 Europa League, which proved to be Arsene Wenger's final European hurrah.

The Frenchman's last bid to lead Arsenal to a major piece of continental silverware ended at the hands of Diego Simeone, whose men drew 1-1 at the Emirates in the first leg before advancing to the final with a 1-0 home win in the return fixture.

Following an hour of goalless action at the Emirates in the opening game, Alexandre Lacazette nodded in a Jack Wilshere cross to give the Gunners the lead, but Antoine Griezmann netted a pivotal equaliser for Atletico in the 82nd minute.

Reconvening at the Wanda Metropolitano a week later, Arsenal's hopes of a momentous Madrid win suffered a massive blow just 12 minutes in, as critical defender Laurent Koscielny sustained a severe Achilles injury that would rule him out of that year's World Cup triumph with France.

Atletico took full advantage, as Diego Costa - a perpetual nemesis of Arsenal's during his time with Chelsea - netted the game's only goal on the stroke of half time to seal a 2-1 aggregate win for the Spanish side, who would go on to defeat Marseille in the final.

However, Arsenal belatedly got a sweet slice of revenge seven years later, as thanks to a 13-minute masterclass, the Gunners destroyed Simeone's Atletico 4-0 in the League Phase of the 2025-26 Champions League.

From 0-0 in the 56th minute to 4-0 in the 70th, Mikel Arteta's men annihilated their Spanish foes thanks to a Viktor Gyokeres double, a Gabriel Magalhaes header and a Gabriel Martinelli finish at the Emirates.

The result condemned Atletico to their joint-heaviest defeat in the Champions League, while Arsenal extended their record winning run against Spanish teams to a stellar seven matches.