{"id":4205,"date":"2026-05-05T12:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4205"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:52:36","slug":"lauren-praises-absolutely-fantastic-arsenal-signing-and-makes-atletico-madrid-prediction-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=4205","title":{"rendered":"Lauren praises ‘absolutely fantastic’ Arsenal signing and makes Atletico Madrid prediction | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Arsenal must control the \u2019emotional factor\u2019 against Atletico Madrid, says Lauren (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ex-Arsenal star Lauren has backed his former club to get the better of Atletico Madrid and reach this year\u2019s Champions League final, as long as they control the \u2019emotional factor\u2019 of the occasion.<\/p>\n

The heavyweight semi-final contest is evenly poised following last week\u2019s first leg at the Metropolitano, where Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez traded penalties to leave the scoreline level at 1-1 heading into tonight\u2019s Emirates showdown.<\/p>\n

The Gunners found themselves in a difficult moment after a suffering wobble in the Premier League, but Mikel Arteta\u2019s men have responded well and will no doubt be buoyed by their comprehensive 3-0 victory over Fulham at the weekend.<\/p>\n

Manchester City\u2019s slip-up at Everton on Monday night will have further boosted the mood inside the Arsenal dressing room at this crucial stage of the campaign, with Mikel Arteta\u2019s men targeting a historic double.<\/p>\n

The north London giants have only featured in a Champions League final once before in their history and that night two decades ago ended in bitter disappointment, as Barcelona came from behind to win 2-1 at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n

Arteta\u2019s side will be desperate to go one better this time around, with a daunting clash against one of Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich up next should they advance past Atleti.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have to control the emotional factor, if we control the emotional factor then the team will be able to understand the tactical point of view,\u2019 former Arsenal full-back Lauren told Hayters.<\/p>\n

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Arsenal drew 1-1 with Atleti in last week\u2019s first leg (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Eze has proven to be an \u2018absolutely fantastic\u2019 signing, says Lauren (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018We have a big chance to win against Atletico Madrid, to reach the final, and also to be able to win the league by the end of the season. It\u2019s very important.<\/p>\n

\u2018Viktor Gyokeres is scoring goals, Bukayo Saka is back in the team and scoring goals. <\/p>\n

\u2018Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli can do it as well.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Lauren believes Eberechi Eze could have a key role to play, with the England international playing arguably his best football yet in an Arsenal shirt following a \u00a367.5million move from Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n

\u2018Eze has been an absolutely fantastic signing. He\u2019s been playing very well, you see the important goal that he scored against Newcastle,\u2019 the Ivorian \u2013 who was injured for Arsenal\u2019s painful Champions League final defeat to Barca \u2013 added.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the last game Arsenal played against Atletico Madrid, when Eze was in the team, he did very well, and last week as well.<\/p>\n

\u2018I believe that those players are arriving at this stage of the season in the best moment possible so we have a big chance to win tonight and do well by the end of the season.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The winner of tonight\u2019s contest will face off against either PSG or Bayern (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Lauren, it\u2019s vitally important that Arsenal get the ball to their standout attacking threats when they win possession high up the pitch against Atleti.<\/p>\n

\u2018Atletico Madrid play a low block if it\u2019s completely necessary so therefore it\u2019s very important to control that emotional factor,\u2019 he went on.<\/p>\n

\u2018The way Arsenal play, pressing high up, controlling the possession of the ball\u2026 I believe that when you press high up and win the ball back high up, the first pass has to be direct, looking for the striker, looking for the players that attack the spaces created, because it\u2019s very important.<\/p>\n

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Arsenal\u2019s defeat to Barca in 2006 remains their one and only appearance in a Champions League final (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018If you win the ball high up and then you make a bad pass, Atletico Madrid is a team that is going to close the space again and then it will be difficult to get that space.<\/p>\n

\u2018Atletico Madrid is a very good team but they\u2019ve been conceding a lot of goals in the last games. In their last seven games they have conceded 12 goals and most of them on set-pieces.<\/p>\n

\u2018So they\u2019re a very good team but if we do what we normally do in an intelligent way then we have a big chance to win the game.\u2019<\/p>\n

On the significance of Arsenal potentially breaking their duck in the Champions League, Lauren replied: \u2018It means a lot.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were in the final once against Barcelona, we couldn\u2019t win that game, so we\u2019ve been waiting for such a long time to be able to be in this final. <\/p>\n

\u2018I believe the team is in the right mood and in the right moment to win the game tonight and play the final.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Who will win this year’s Champions League?<\/h3>\n