A pair of players on the books of Arsenal are now technically league champions, on the back of Atletico Madrid’s La Liga triumph.
Suarez decides it
Diego Simeone’s men were of course back in action earlier this evening.
Los Colchoneros made the trip to Real Valladolid, as part of the final round of fixtures in the Spanish top-flight.
Atleti headed into proceedings aware that a victory would see them wrestle back La Liga supremacy from city rivals Real, who themselves sat just two points adrift of the division’s summit heading into Saturday’s action.
When all was said and done, though, despite Real doing their part, it was indeed Atletico who went on to secure their latest league title.
After falling behind to an early Oscar Plano opener, the visitors levelled things up at the Estadio José Zorrilla shortly before the hour mark:
ANGEL CORREA SCORES FOR ATLETI! 😱
Atletico Madrid equalise and take another big step towards the LaLiga title 🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/a0qrO6HZO1
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) May 22, 2021
And, ten minutes later, the telling goal of not only the evening, but the title race as a whole, was forthcoming.
Luis Suarez was inevitably the man on target, capitalising on a Valladolid mixup to surge through on goal, before slotting home at Jordi Masip’s near post with typical poise:
Luis Suarez scores the goal that could seal title glory for Atletico Madrid 🔴⚪🏆
Who else could it possibly have been? A potential LaLiga decider 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/qeLWGi49Vd
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) May 22, 2021
And this proved all she wrote when it came to the goalscoring in the northwest of Spain, as Atleti marched to a first La Liga title since 2014.
Gunners to benefit
As outlined above, though, the permanent members of Diego Simeone’s squad are not the only ones set to benefit from the club’s historic triumph.
Joining the likes of long-standing stars Koke, Saul Niguez and Jan Oblak in securing winners medals was of course an Arsenal star, in the form of Lucas Torreira.
Uruguayan midfielder Torreira made the move to the Wanda Metropolitano on loan last summer, and went on to feature in half of Atletico’s league fixtures.
In turn, despite just three of his appearances having come from the off, the 25-year-old is set to share in the club’s triumph:
M A M I somos campeones 🏆 espero que estes disfrutando de este hermoso momento. Siempre con nosotros gordita. 👼 ✌🏻 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XD8X65tGQh
— Lucas Torreira #LT14 (@LTorreira34) May 22, 2021
Torreira, however, is in fact only one of two Gunners stars who can now technically refer to himself as a La Liga champion.
The other? Thomas Partey.
Ghanaian international Partey swapped the Spanish capital for its English equivalent last summer, after Arsenal opted to activate his release clause.
The 27-year-old, though, had already lined out in all of Atleti’s first three La Liga outings of the campaign, and even bagged a Man of the Match prize along the way.
In turn, he is considered to have played a role in the club’s eventual glory, and can, as a result, be referred to as a champion.
It is unclear whether Partey is in line for a winners medal, however.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 06: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Tottenham Hotspur battles for possession with Thomas Partey of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 06, 2020 in London, England. A limited number of fans (2000) are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
A similar, albeit more high-profile example was forthcoming last season, when Alvaro Odriozola was named a La Liga winner, despite having lined out for Real Madrid on just four occasions, before departing the Bernabeu for Bayern Munich.
Alvaro Odriozola joined Bayern Munich on loan from Real Madrid in January.
He’s played 613 minutes during this season and has won FIVE trophies. 😳
🇪🇸 La Liga • 🇩🇪 Bundesliga
🇩🇪 DFB Pokal • 🇪🇸 Spanish Super Cup
🇪🇺 UEFA Champions LeagueThat’s a trophy every 122 minutes. pic.twitter.com/uewyS1yxlV
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 24, 2020
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