Big boost for Arsenal with £87m Atletico star ruled out with muscle injury
Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios has been ruled out of the Champions League semi-final ties against Arsenal with a muscle injury, according to AS.
The 22-year-old has been a key player for the Madrid heavyweights under manager Diego Simeone, and has already made 35 appearances across all competitions this season.
Barrios returned from a lengthy absence with a muscle injury earlier this month, but he suffered another setback during the 3-2 La Liga win over Athletic Club last weekend.
AS now reveal that the Atletico graduate won’t play any part in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against the Gunners at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.
Barrios, who has a £87 million release clause in his Atletico contract, won’t feature during the second leg in London either, as he could be sidelined for at least a month.
Barrios’ absence is a huge boost for the Gunners
The Spaniard has been a regular in the heart of the midfield for Atletico. He has completed an impressive 89 percent of his passes in La Liga this term, winning almost five duels per appearance.
Barrios has also made five recoveries on average. His statistics are similar to those of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, according to DataMB. Arsenal have been handed a boost by his injury setback.
Still, the Gunners need to play at their best to get a positive result at Atletico. Simeone could still field Marcos Llorente and Koke in the heart of the midfield on Wednesday night.
That combination would offer less press resistance than Barrios in the XI. This is something which the Gunners may seek to exploit to dominate proceedings in the centre of the park.
Meanwhile, Arsenal could make some big changes too. Eberechi Eze and Kai Havertz were substituted due to injuries on Saturday. They may need to be assessed before the trip to Madrid.
Stats from Sofascore & DataMB
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