Arsenal have apologized to Atletico Madrid following a Champions League dispute that threatened to boil over. Atlético Madrid have lodged an official complaint with UEFA after they discovered they had no hot water in their showers after training at the Emirates.
As a result, the Spanish team were forced to leave the ground without showering and return to their London hotel in their training clothes. Spanish media said Atlético were “outraged” by the incident which left their players stuck in sweaty kits after pre-match preparations at the Emirates.
The situation was reminiscent of old-fashioned gamesmanship reminiscent of clubs like Wimbledon, who famously cut off the hot water supply to make visiting teams uneasy.
However, Arsenal insist this was a genuine error that affected both changing rooms and that it was quickly rectified after the defect was discovered.
The issue affected both facilities, but Atlético notified Arsenal officials at 6.45pm, with the Spain international scheduled to finish training at 7.30pm.
They ultimately opted to end the session early at 7:15pm and return to their accommodation, with Arsenal confirming that the issue had been resolved by 7:25pm.
Arsenal have now apologized to Atletico for the confusion caused.
Under UEFA regulations, visiting teams are allowed to train at the host stadium the night before a Champions League match.
Not all clubs exercise this right, with Arsenal usually preparing in London before traveling abroad. Atletico manager Diego Simeone returned to the touchline tonight after serving a one-match ban following a disturbance with fans at Liverpool last month.
There is great mutual respect between Simeone and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as they prepare for their clash at the Champions League stage.
Arteta said of Simeone: “If I had to choose a word, it would be the will to win. It’s the way they live their lives. The way they behave, the way they act in everything, they have the purpose they need to win and they find a way to achieve that. They have changed a lot of players and the competition in Spain is increasing.”
“They have two very big clubs, but they’ve always been there. It’s driven by their mentality and passion, and then especially the way he sees the game and the way he tries to encourage his team to play. That’s the important thing.”
“They have won big trophies, reached the Champions League final and taken all the right steps when they needed to take important steps. We need to try and do that and we are on the journey to achieve that.”
