Atletico Madrid were furious over problems at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Arsenal.
Arsenal have apologized to Atletico Madrid after their Champions League row threatened to boil over. Atlético Madrid have lodged a formal complaint with UEFA over lack of hot water in the showers after training at the Emirates.
This forced the Spanish club to leave the stadium and return to their London hotel without being able to take a shower. Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Atlético were “furious” over an incident in which players were left in sweaty uniforms after pre-match training at the Emirates.
It sounded like a throwback to the old tactics of the days when Wimbledon and others would turn off the hot water to make opponents uncomfortable. However, Arsenal insist this was an innocent mistake that affected both dressing rooms and that it was quickly rectified once they realized there was a problem.
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The issue affected both dressing rooms, but Atlético alerted Arsenal’s staff at 6:45pm, with the Spanish club due to finish training at 7:30pm.
In the end, they finished early at 7:15pm, with Arsenal announcing at 7:25pm that the issue had been resolved and choosing to return to their hotel.
Arsenal have apologized to Atletico for the inconvenience caused.
Under UEFA regulations, visiting clubs will be able to train at their opponent’s stadium the night before a Champions League match. Not all clubs have taken up this option, with Arsenal traditionally training in London before departing on overseas trips.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone will return to the touchline tonight after serving a one-match ban for a disturbance with fans during last month’s game against Liverpool. There has been much praise between Simeone and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ahead of their Champions League clash.
Arteta said of Simeone: “If I had to choose a word, it would be the will to win. The way they live their lives. The way they behave, the way they act in everything, they have the objective 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 getting tougher. They have changed a lot of players and the competition is getting tougher in Spain.”
“They’ve got 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.”
“The way they won a big trophy, got to the Champions League final and took 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 it.”
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