Atletico’s captain said the Spanish side were calm until Declan Rice’s set-piece sparked an Arsenal onslaught that left Diego Simeone’s men reeling.
Koke insisted Atletico Madrid had the match “under control” before Arsenal’s 13-minute blitz destroyed them at the Emirates.
“We had the game under control, in the second half more than in the first,” he told La Razón. “But in a set-piece play they made it 1-0. Then we had Giuliano’s one to draw and in three moves they have scored the next three goals against us.”
Atletico held firm for almost an hour before Gabriel Magalhães headed in Declan Rice’s free-kick to break the deadlock.
What followed was ruthless.
Gabriel Martinelli doubled the lead after a driving run by Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Viktor Gyökeres ended his goal drought with two in quick succession to finish a 4-0 win.
Atletico’s early effort to frustrate Arsenal counted for little. Jan Oblak had made key saves, and Julián Álvarez hit the crossbar, but once the first goal went in, they collapsed. “Atletico wasn’t having a bad feeling, but they ended up scoring a goal,” said Koke, who was very lucky not to be booked for a terrible foul on Bukayo Saka in the first minute.
ABC called it “thirteen minutes to forget”, noting how Simeone’s side were overrun after defending so well for so long. “The dreaded set-piece of the English team,” the paper said, “found its umpteenth prize this season thanks to a great free-kick put in by Rice and headed by Gabriel.”
Koke pointed out that Atletico have already faced their toughest Champions League trips, to Liverpool and Arsenal, and urged his side to recover quickly.
It was a night that showed just how far Mikel Arteta’s team have come since the teams last met. Atletico were organised and combative, but once Arsenal struck, there was no contest.