Arsenal show Champions League and quadruple credentials in flawless Atletico drubbing

The Weapons are just a really, really good football team, aren’t they? Mikel Arteta’s side made light work of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, which is no mean feat.

Why can’t this team win more? The argument is that they haven’t won anything for five years, so how can we expect them to win two, three, or even four trophies in a single campaign? But my word, they look very, very impressive.

You can call them boring. You can call them efficient. You can call them whatever you want. They are just bloody good.

Tuesday evening’s 4-0 win over Atletico showed it all weapon The team is close. They scored from two set-pieces, just because of it, Victor Guevara’s centre-forward integrity with a one-on-one, Gabriel Magalhas’ eye for goal and aerial dominance on show for the second, and Declan Rice’s world-class delivery on show for both.

Mainly because of Rice’s flawless, David Beckham-esque delivery, the weapons set manages to make the money targets look stylish. Gabriel’s header to open the scoring on 57 minutes, after an underwhelming first half, was simply breathtaking. Rice knew it too, celebrating the goal as if he had scored it himself.

The second set-piece goal was the cherry on top of the cake as Guevara made it two on the night, and while it wasn’t as easy on the eye up close, it showed the Swede’s impressive positioning, as well as his strength to hold on and guide the ball out of the yard with his thigh.

In between those two goals, Gabriel Martinelli scored on a quick counter-attack led by outstanding youngster Miles Lewis Scalelly, and Giocris scored his first in eight, aided by a great foul. But for Javicares, under pressure to find the net, it didn’t matter how it went – it just happened.

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While the threat of the set piece was again on show, so was the threat of weapons in transition. Lewis-Scale’s dribble started in his own half and took four Atlético players out of the game. The pass was timed perfectly, and Martinelli’s curled finish was unstoppable by Jan Oblak. A truly noble cause.

Arsenal’s second half was relentless. Not only were they ruthless in attack, but they were notoriously vigilant on the back. Atletico registered their only shot on target in the 77th minute.

That being said, Julian Alvarez smashing the bar from outside the box was clearly a pivotal moment. If his shot had been a few inches lower, the outcome of the game would have been completely different.

But at the end of the day, the closest Atlético came to scoring was at the Emirates. Whether it’s attacking or defending, this weapon is a team of many.

As a collective, they are the best team in England – maybe even Europe. Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are the only possible exceptions for now.

At individual level, there is now world-class quality across the pitch. Each starter deserves a special mention for their contribution against Atlético, and also for what they have produced so far this season.

Jurin Timber is ridiculously calm and composed on the ball, and is an elite one-on-one defender. Gabriel and William Saliba are a terrifying proposition for any striker. And on the left wing, the presence of Ricardo Clafuri and Lewis-Scully is provocative depth for Arteta.

Rice is by no means a set-piece merchant, yet his delivery could be the best in the Premier League now that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kevin De Bruyne are elsewhere.

And then you have Martin Zabemandi. Just wow. What a talented player he is. Like Arsenal as a team, he has the same quality offensively, defensively, and in the middle of the park where he puts things to pieces and makes key interceptions and tackles.

Arsenal’s biggest weakness over the past two seasons, despite Zubimendi feeling like the ‘last piece of the jigsaw’ compared to Jevicirus. m 60 million already sounds like a bargain.

Arsenal have an amazing football team. Love them or hate them, you can’t deny it.

We’re not going all out and saying they’re going to win the quadruple – Obviously No. But you have to say they look good value for every competition this season. And for once, they have enough serious depth that it would take an extraordinary injury crisis to stop them. They have quality throughout the squad, with Arteta enjoying the luxury of bringing Ethan Nuneri, Benjamin White, Mikel Merino, Christian Norgaard and Christian Miki off the bench. And without captain and midfield heartbeat Martin Odegaard, they aren’t skipping a beat.

It’s unfortunate that you guys didn’t have a more engaging or analytical narrative. Sometimes stepping back and admitting that a team looks at the absolute top of their game.

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