Arsenal out to achieve never-before-seen Champions League feat in Atletico Madrid first leg

Arsenal will have to do something that no team has ever done before if they are to claim a first-leg lead in their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta's men have arrived in the Spanish capital as they gear up for a blockbuster meeting with Diego Simeone's side, who eliminated Barcelona from the UCL quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, the Gunners edged out Sporting Lisbon 1-0 to earn their ticket to the final four for the second year running, something no Arsenal team had ever managed before.

Mikel Arteta also masterminded a tremendous 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the league phase of the competition, but the Rojiblancos have traditionally been a different beast at home in the knockout rounds.

Indeed, if Arsenal manage to pull off a victory on Wednesday evening, they would be the first Premier League team to ever win a Champions League knockout game away to Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal aiming to create Champions League history against Atletico Madrid

At both the Vicente Calderon and Estadio Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid have faced English clubs six times in UCL knockout games and have recorded three wins and three draws in that sequence.

Interestingly, all six of those games have also come against different Premier League teams in Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Leicester City and most recently Tottenham Hotspur.

Simeone's side memorably battered Spurs 5-2 in the last 16 first leg, while Liverpool (2019-20) and Leicester City (2016-17) both suffered 1-0 knockout defeats away to Atletico.

A 0-0 stalemate with Chelsea in 2013-14 kicked off that sequence for the Spanish giants, who also drew 1-1 with Man Utd in the 2021-22 last 16 and 0-0 with Man City in the quarter-finals of the same edition.

However, Arsenal do not need to win to equal a club record of their own, as they are one draw or victory away from matching their all-time best of 13 consecutive Champions League games unbeaten, which they managed during their run to the final in 2005-06.

Mikel Arteta issues quadruple Arsenal injury update before Atletico Madrid

After landing in Madrid, Arteta was quizzed on the Arsenal injury situation after receiving two boosts and two blows in Tuesday's final training session.

The Gunners boss confirmed that Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori were both fit and raring to go, but Kai Havertz is sidelined with the injury he sustained against Newcastle United.

Furthermore, Jurrien Timber (groin) is still sidelined, and Arteta could not give a timeframe on the Dutchman's return to action.

"We don't know yet," Arteta replied when asked when Timber could return. "He's doing some stuff on the pitch at the moment, but we need to get the gears up and be able to do more things before he can compete with us."

The Spaniard also refused to comment on reports linking Arsenal with Atletico's Julian Alvarez, who is already on nine Champions League goals for the season.