Two Atletico Madrid legends have extra motivation to crush Arsenal’s Champions League dream

A pair of Atletico Madrid stars would love nothing more than to destroy Arsenal and advance to the Champions League final.

Tomorrow night, ‘Los Colchoneros’ will host ‘The Gunners’ at The Riyadh Air Metropolitano in the first leg of the biggest competition in club football.

Koke and Antoine Griezmann really want to beat Arsenal in the Champions League

On Wednesday evening, Antoine Griezmann will play his last ever home game in the Champions League for Atletico Madrid. Following an incredibly successful time at the club, the Frenchman will head off to Orlando City at the end of the season.

In addition, when 2025-26 comes to a close, Koke will be out of contract, meaning his future is extremely unclear. And with their situations taken into account, the captain of the Spanish club is adamant that the pair have extra motivation to raise the Champions League trophy aloft.

According to the Daily Mirror, he explained: “Well, I think if Antoine can say goodbye with the Champions League it would be incredible for everyone and we have the same motivation. Beyond Antoine’s farewell, I think we all have the motivation to win the Champions League, right? Which is the most we can achieve.

“I think in the end, this is a team and we play to try to achieve the maximum, and the maximum right now is the Champions League.

“I feel like I’m enjoying this season a lot, that Champions League semi-finals aren’t played every year. We talked about it in the other press conference when we were in Al-Bassa. If we got to the semi-finals, it was the seventh time Atletico Madrid had done it and luckily this is my fourth that I can play.

“So, it’s not played every year, enjoy it to the fullest. I don’t know if I’ll play one more, but it is true that I’m going to enjoy it like I did the previous times.”

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Koke says he can still cope with the demands of the Champions League

At 34, Koke is likely in the twilight of his career. But despite his age, he’s adamant he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level of the sport.

Koke added: “It doesn’t surprise me, the truth is obviously as you get older it costs more, as happens to all footballers, but it doesn’t surprise me.

“The truth is, every day it motivates me more to be here, to be able to work as I’ve been doing all these years, and honestly, that motivation is what leads me to the level I’m giving during this season. The past is in the past, and we have to enjoy it.

“I mean, I don’t notice anything strange or that anything different is going to happen compared to other semi-finals, except that we’re playing against a great team like Arsenal and it’s a Champions League semi-final and with the greatest motivation, so nothing different changes or at least I perceive it as nothing different.”

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