Arsenal produced a blistering second-half performance to overwhelm Atletico Madrid 4–0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

The gunners maintained their perfect start to the Champions League campaign and sealing the club’s 100th win in the competition.

“Having impressed in the opening 45 minutes without getting on the scoreboard, that changed after the break when Gabriel headed us in front, before three goals in six minutes swept Diego Simeone’s side away,” the club said in a post-match report.

Gabriel Martinelli’s neat finish doubled the advantage before Viktor Gyökeres got back on the goal trail with a brace, “to bring up our 100th win in the Champions League in style and put us firmly in the driving seat for a spot in the top eight of the league table, and thus the last-16 for the third straight season.”

Arsenal had threatened to take control from the opening minutes, with Ebere Eze and Bukayo Saka both denied by Jan Oblak.

Declan Rice also went close, while Martinelli had a goal disallowed for offside before the break.

Atletico briefly rallied after half-time when Julián Álvarez struck the crossbar, but Arsenal’s response was emphatic.

“Martinelli’s power and pace drew a foul from Marcos Llorente on the left touchline, allowing Rice to whip a devilish delivery into the box, and Gabriel was left undetected to run onto it and nod into the net to hand us the all-important lead,” the club added.

The Gunners then turned their dominance into a rout. “Rice found Lewis-Skelly in the centre circle and he drove forward all the way to the edge of the box, releasing the ball at the perfect time for Martinelli to instinctively stroke the ball first-time past Oblak, with the upright helping him register his fourth goal in his last six European matches.”

Moments later, Gyökeres broke his drought, as “fortune favoured him as it trickled past Oblak.” The Swedish striker then struck again from close range to seal a stunning six-minute blitz.

That allowed manager Mikel Arteta to hand rests to key players ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.

Arsenal also maintained their incredible record of never conceding a home goal under Arteta’s watch in the competition’s league phase — “that stretched to nine matches after we comfortably saw the game out.”

The Gunners are back in action in N5 on Sunday when they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League, followed by a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton next Wednesday, before a trip to Burnley on November 1.