Arsenal have played the most UEFA Champions League (formerly the European Cup) games without winning the competition at 223. Atletico Madrid have played the second-most at 190.
One of these two European giants will get the opportunity to get off the schneid in Budapest on May 30. The other will have to wait at least one more year.
Arsenal is the bookmaker’s choice at -225 to advance to the final, but Atleti will be brimming with confidence after dispatching one of the tournament’s favorites, Barcelona, in the quarterfinals.
It may not be the most famous sporting cathedral in the world, but Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium is one of the most atmospheric stadiums in all of soccer, and it will be in fine voice on Wednesday evening as Los Colchoneros host Arsenal in one of the most important matches in the club’s history.
These two clubs have had very different paths to the semifinals.
While Atleti has played high-event soccer against the likes of Club Brugge, Tottenham, and Barcelona in the knockout stages, Arsenal has done the opposite.
Only one goal was scored in Arsenal’s two-legged victory over Sporting CP in the quarterfinals, and the Gunners dispatched Bayer Leverkusen, 3-1, on aggregate in the Round of 16.
That’s five total goals in Arsenal’s last four matches in this competition. Atleti, on the other hand, have outscored their opponents, 17-11, in their six knockout games in Europe.
This has been Arsenal’s M.O. under Mikel Arteta. Lull the opponents to sleep, take your chances, and don’t let your opponents have a sniff.
Atleti can play that game, too, but the best path to success for Diego Simeone’s side is to unsettle Arsenal.
Perhaps no team in Europe has a better Plan A, than Arteta’s Gunners, but they become very vulnerable when matches teeter away from their preferred script.
There is perhaps no venue that will test Arsenal’s mettle more than the Metropolitano, and there may be no manager better at getting his team to get under its opponent’s skin than Simeone.
There’s value on Atleti as a home underdog on Wednesday.
The play: Atletico Madrid to win (+210, bet365)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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