Fiasco at the Emirates: Arsenal give Atlético Madrid a cold shower before Champions League game

Tensions flared in north London before Atlético Madrid’s Champions League game against Arsenal on Tuesday. Upon arriving at the Emirates Stadium for their final training session ahead of the match, the Spanish side discovered that the locker rooms had no hot water.

The session was scheduled to end around 3:30 p.m. ET, but when it wrapped up, Atlético players had to head straight to their hotel without taking showers. The situation seemed unresolved at first.

Atlético Madrid file UEFA complaint... over cold showers

The Atlético delegation’s frustration led the club to file a formal complaint with UEFA. According to sources at AS, the hot-water problem, affecting both the home and visiting locker rooms, was actually resolved as the team was leaving the stadium.

Arsenal has apologized to Atlético, explaining that staff fixed the issue. The heavy rain during the session, however, forced the Spanish side to cut training short.

Heavyweight UCL showdown

This pre-match drama underscores that this is no ordinary Champions League first-round encounter. Both Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Diego Simeone’s Atlético are eager to secure all three points in the third round of group play to strengthen their positions at the top of the table.

The two Champions League favorites will finally face off tonight (Tuesday) at 3:00 p.m. ET in north London, this time with hot water ready for everyone.

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