Champions League

Image source, BBC Sport

Last night's win means Arsenal join defending champions Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan at the top of the Champions League table with three wins from three matches.

The Gunners are one of only two sides yet to concede a goal in this season's competition, Inter being the other.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Qarabag could also maintain their perfect start to the league phase if they record wins tonight.

Meanwhile, Manchester City moved into fifth place with seven points from three games and Newcastle United are seventh on six points.

Tottenham have four points from two games while Liverpool and Chelsea are on three - all three sides will be in action later today.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Brighton striker Glenn Murray speaks on Victor Gyokeres, who scored twice for Arsenal last night after a long goal drought, not consistently scoring goals on the Football Daily Podcast: "As a former striker, I'd want to score goals. I could run around out there, and I could be a platform and play well if I didn't get a goal, but it didn't quite feel the same.

"You could see what it meant to him, especially that second goal, and the pressure that has been lifted. He does offer something, and that is a real positive when you've got a number nine that even if he isn't scoring, is affecting the way the opposition play. But from a personal point of view, you always want to get that goal.

"All of a sudden, he's in the right place at the right time, and Gabriel headed that back across. Again it wasn't a pretty goal, but it doesn't matter. He walks away two goals.

"I saw him collect man of the match. And as far as he's concerned, that confidence in himself and his teammates in him is just growing all the time."

To be fair, Michael, Myles Lewis-Skelly got plenty of praise last season when he was playing more regularly.

He's started Arsenal's past two Champions League games but he's not featured from the start in any Premier League games yet - in fact, he's only played 83 minutes in the league all season.

If he can get himself back into the starting XI and is playing well then I'm sure the praise will come again...

Glenn Murray
Former Crystal Palace & Brighton striker on the Football Daily podcast

Once Arsenal got their noses in front, they smelt blood and just showed a sureness, a professionalism and a maturity.

Atletico had done well with the game at 0-0 and threatened to take the lead but once Arsenal went in front, they blew Atletico away.

I was really impressed by Viktor Gyokeres' attitude. You can feel the Arsenal fans willing him to do well here. He was closing down. He was a real catalyst.

When you're a midfield player and you see your forward player closing down with that intensity, it drags you along at times and he did that.

But he added goals to his game and that was massive. They weren't pretty but it doesn't matter. It hit the back of the net and gave him that confidence.

As Rezaa and Daniel have just said, there's no doubt Arsenal look pretty formidable this season. The summer signings have given them the squad depth they lacked last season - even before injuries struck.

Might there be a concern on an over-reliance on set pieces? Perhaps but, certainly in the Premier League, with other contenders still having issues to address, the Gunners look in a great position to go one better after three straight second-place finishes.

Their start in Europe suggests they should be considered among the favourites for the Champions League as well...

Alex Howell
BBC Sport Arsenal reporter at Emirates Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's threat from set-pieces is well known, but the Gunners have gone to another level this season.

Both Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Fulham boss Marco Silva have mentioned the Gunners' ability in those situations recently, with a goal from a corner making the difference in Arsenal's win over the Cottagers on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta's team boast excellent delivery from both sides of the pitch with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka consistently putting the ball in good areas for their team-mates to attack.

Since Rice's debut for Arsenal in August 2023, only Inter Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu (11) has more assists from dead balls in all competitions across Europe's big five leagues than the England international (10).

It was a set-piece and a goal from Gabriel that saw Arsenal get a crucial win over Newcastle in the Premier League last month, and it was the defender again who opened the scoring against Atletico when this match was crying out for a spark.

Arsenal now have 10 goals from set-pieces this season, excluding penalties, and as they hope to compete for trophies in multiple competitions this season, their potency from those opportunities is going to be key.

So, the back page headline writers have been making hay with Viktor Gyokeres' scoring twice for Arsenal...

Although the Guardian resisted the temptation to get involved...

Image source, The Guardian

Image source, Getty Images

Since returning to the Champions League in 2023-24, Arsenal have won all nine of their home group games by an aggregate score of 27-0.

It makes them the first side in the competition's history to keep a clean sheet in nine successive home group games.

Image source, Getty Images

Viktor Gyokeres, 27, scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting in his two seasons at the Portuguese club and was not used to significant runs of games without adding to his tally.

Of his performance against Atletico, the Arsenal striker told Uefa: "I am very pleased of course. Both [my] goals were great.

"I try to do my best all the time and work hard, contribute with different stuff and the goals would come sooner or later.

"We want to do well, we want to win football matches but there's a long journey to go. We will take it game by game, even if that sounds boring."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes Viktor Gyokeres' double against Atletico Madrid could be the start of a prolific spell for the striker.

After three goals in his first four matches, £64m signing Gyokeres failed to find the net in Arsenal's next seven games and looked visibly frustrated at times.

But after finding his clinical touch again in the thumping win over Atletico on Tuesday, Gyokeres' tally now stands at five goals in 12 matches.

"He deserved it because everything that we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks, there was no debate about that," said Arteta.

"It was about keeping that belief in himself, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely.

"I think he has certainly done that today, [he had] a big smile on his face.

"Look at his team-mates as well, in the picture and the video, they are all so happy for him because he fully deserves it."

After they so impressively swatted Atletico Madrid aside, it's time to focus in on Arsenal.

Will this be the year Mikel Arteta and his side end the club's long wait for a first European Cup triumph?

An interesting transfer line in the I newspaper, which reports that West Ham are preparing a loan move for disgruntled Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee.

That may well be a question for Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who we are due to hear from at a news conference around 13:30 BST. Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner and Leeds manager Daniel Farke should be speaking around the same time, too.

And around an hour or so later, Sean Dyche will give his first news conference as Nottingham Forest manager.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph joins in the Gyokeres pun fun and also reports on Aston Villa warning fans about political messaging at their match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv next month.

Image source, The i newspaper

Image source, Daily Telegraph

Question: How many puns can you get in headlines about Arsenal scorer Viktor Gyokeres?

Answer: Plenty.

The papers have a field day after the £64m signing ended a barren run with two goals in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

Image source, Daily Mirror

Image source, Daily Star

Image source, Daily Express

The Champions League was revamped before the 2024-25 season with a new 36-team phase.

In the expanded tournament each side plays eight different teams - four at home and four away - in the league phase.

Teams who finish in the top eight automatically qualify for the last 16, while those placing ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them.

Sides who finish 25th or lower will be eliminated - and will not drop into the Europa League.

A blockbuster evening in the Champions League and good news for England's representatives.

Nine goals scored, none conceded.

So what did you make of last night's matches? Loved the goal fest? Or are some of these early Champions League matches too one-sided?

As ever, you help make this page, so we want to hear your views. Get in touch using the form at the top of this page.

And as for the revamped Champions League format - hit the thumbs, up if you like it, down if you don't!

Champions League

• Barcelona 6-1 Olympiacos
• Kairat 0-0 Pafos
• Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid
• Bayer Leverkusen 2-7 Paris St-Germain
• Copenhagen 2-4 Borussia Dortmund
• Newcastle 3-0 Benfica
• PSV 6-2 Napoli
• Union Saint-Gilloise 0-4 Inter Milan
• Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City