UEFA Champions League

Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid – Champions League semi-final second leg

Arsenal host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium, London, on Tuesday 5 May 2026, with kick-off at 20:00 BST. The tie is level after the first leg finished 1-1 at the Estadio Metropolitano on 29 April, so everything is to play for in north London.

How do tickets work for this match?

Arsenal allocate Champions League tickets to members first. The club operates a tiered priority system, so the longer you have held a membership, the earlier your access window opens. If you are not already a member, the official Arsenal website is the place to check for any remaining general sale allocation, though for a semi-final second leg that is far from guaranteed.

UEFA also holds a small allocation for each club in European ties. Check the official UEFA ticketing portal for any supporter tickets distributed through that route. Away fans travelling from Madrid will have a separate allocation handled through Atletico Madrid's official channels.

Once the official sale closes, the secondary market is where most fans end up looking. Prices on resale platforms with buyer protection are typically well above face value for a Champions League semi-final, and they tend to rise closer to kick-off as availability tightens. If you are buying through a resale platform, check that it offers a guarantee on the validity of the ticket before you pay.

Getting to the Emirates Stadium

• The nearest tube stations are Arsenal (Piccadilly line) and Holloway Road (Piccadilly line). Both are a short walk from the ground.
• Finsbury Park station (Victoria and Great Northern lines) is slightly further but handles large crowds well and is a useful alternative.
• Driving is not recommended. Parking near the Emirates is extremely limited on matchdays and surrounding streets have permit restrictions.
• Arrive at least 90 minutes before kick-off. Turnstile queues for European nights build quickly.

The Emirates Stadium has a capacity of 60,704. For a match of this magnitude, the ground will be full, so early arrival is genuinely worth it rather than just a polite suggestion.

What to bring

You need a valid photo ID if you are collecting tickets at the box office. Arsenal operates a cashless policy inside the stadium, so bring a card. Bags are subject to size restrictions; check the current Emirates Stadium bag policy on Arsenal's official website before you travel, as these can be updated for European fixtures.

The tie so far

The first leg at the Metropolitano ended 1-1, setting up a genuinely open second leg. Arsenal beat Atletico 4-0 at the Emirates on Matchday 3 of the league phase back in October, but Atletico have shown they are a different proposition in knockout football. According to UEFA.com, Atletico have won 11 of their 15 previous two-legged European ties against English clubs, including all three semi-finals they have contested against Premier League opposition.

That said, Arsenal won all eight of their league phase matches this season, the first club to do so in the new Champions League format, according to UEFA.com. Their defence conceded only five goals across those 12 league phase matches. Atletico, by contrast, have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine matches per BBC Sport, though they have scored 34 Champions League goals this season, a record for the club in European competition.

Arsenal reached the semi-finals by beating Bayer Leverkusen and then Sporting CP, with Kai Havertz's late goal in Lisbon proving decisive. Atletico came through Club Brugge, Tottenham Hotspur, and Barcelona, with Ademola Lookman settling the quarter-final against Barca. Both sides got here the hard way.

Players to watch

Julian Alvarez has nine Champions League goals this season, a club record for Atletico, according to BBC Sport. He returned from a muscle injury to start the first leg. For Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres came into the starting XI for the first leg after Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze picked up knocks. Check the latest team news before the second leg, as the injury situation at both clubs has been fluid.

What does the history say?

The only previous time these clubs met before this season was the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League semi-finals. Atletico won that tie 2-1 on aggregate, with a 1-0 home win following a 1-1 draw in London, and went on to win the trophy. Arsenal will be aware of that, though the current squads are very different.