Arsenal Shows No Mercy

"Arsenal has looked every bit the side that it dreamed of being after spending big this summer get over the hump. The club didn't exactly need a singular game to announce itself as one of the big contenders for trophies this year, but Tuesday's Champions League match against Atlético Madrid served that purpose, as the Gunners shook off a languid first half to wallop the Spanish side 4-0, leaving no doubt that this Arsenal is ready to compete for everything."

"In contrast to what we've come to expect from Diego Simeone's Atlético teams, Los Colchoneros are actually quite attacking-minded, and have already put up some gaudy scorelines in this young season (5-1 against Frankfurt the last time out in the Champions League, and a famous 5-2 thrashing of Real Madrid). That doesn't mean Simeone is throwing caution to the wind, and heading into the North London fortress, where Arsenal so rarely loses, made the Argentine dust off some of his old tricks."

"Atlético hunkered down quite a bit, and Arsenal seemed a tad lost in figuring out how to attack efficiently. Sure, the hosts had nine shots in the first 45 minutes, but only one really threatened Jan Oblak. Atlético didn't put up much resistance going the other way, though it had more of the ball than it usually does when setting up roadblocks up and down the field (the possession split was just 55-45 in Arsenal's favor)."

Arsenal has reached its best level under Mikel Arteta and shows clear credentials as a contender across competitions. The squad still has imperfections but has improved after significant summer investment. A 4-0 Champions League victory over Atlético Madrid demonstrated the team's ability to recover from a slow start and finish dominant. Atlético displayed an unusually attacking approach this season, prompting Diego Simeone to mix in defensive measures at the Emirates. Arsenal produced nine first-half shots with limited danger and held a 55-45 possession advantage, then tightened defensively and executed decisive attacking phases to secure a comprehensive victory.

Read at Defector