Diego Simeone faced the media after watching his Atletico Madrid side lose 4-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates.
Atletico Madrid tested Arsenal in the early stages of the contest, but once the floodgates opened, there was only ever going to be one winner.
Gabriel Magalhaes found the net from a set-piece once again, thanks to another unstoppable Declan Rice delivery, with the scoreline added to by Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres.
It was a night to remember for the goal scorers, who each offered their own threat, but it was another player whom Simeone anticipated to cause his team problems.
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Diego Simeone changed his Atletico Madrid team because of Martin Zubimendi
Simeone had a lively night at the Emirates and understood how difficult the contest would be for his players before the match even kicked off.
In his post-match press conference, the Atletico Madrid manager admitted that he made one tweak to his starting XI with the sole intent to limit Martin Zubimendi.
When asked why he chose to start Alexander Sorloth over Antoine Griezmann, Simeone admitted that the striker’s purpose was to glue himself to Zubimendi.
“Alex did a correct job in what we asked him to do: cover Zubimendi and look for races on the spaces, which we could develop little because we had no speed to get out,” Simeone said.
Zubimendi produced some moments of magic against Atletico, and Simeone knows why the Arsenal star was able to.
“His [Sorloth] performance was good in terms of what was asked of him. It was not a decision for the defensive set ball, but for the one-on-one duels, generating centre situations to the area, having presence… That did not appear because the team did not help, but he worked what he had to work.”
Simeone believed Sorloth did what he had to, but support was lacking from elsewhere, which ultimately prevented the plan from being pulled off as Zubimendi shone for the Gunners once again.
Zubimendi would’ve celebrated the Atletico Madrid win more than anyone else
Zubimendi is familiar with playing against Atletico, so it’s no surprise that Simeone was fixated on the Arsenal midfielder when selecting his team.
The Spaniard was impressive against Atletico, particularly in the final third, but putting his individual brilliance aside, all that mattered was the result.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Zubimendi hadn’t won a game against Atletico since January 2022 before matchday three of the Champions League, facing Simeone’s side nine times in that period, failing to win once.
Finally, the 26-year-old’s personal record against Atletico improved, as Arsenal ran riot at the Emirates to truly stun Simeone’s squad.
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