Arsenal made unusual last-minute request to UEFA hours before Atletico Madrid clash

Arsenal made a last-minute request to UEFA ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, according to journalist Guillem Balague.

The Gunners have travelled to the Wanda Metropolitano tonight as they aim to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.

Atletico defeated Tottenham and Barcelona in the knockouts to reach the last four, while Arsenal got the better of Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting CP.

Mikel Arteta's side are not in great form ahead of the contest, having lost two of their last three matches in the Premier League.

The latter of those defeats, a 2-1 loss at Manchester City on April 19, dropped them off the top of the table, though they regained the lead by beating Newcastle 1-0 on Saturday.

That has served as potentially ideal preparation for tonight's clash at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Atletico notoriously tough opposition to get the better of.

Both Barcelona and Spurs complained about the pitch during the away legs of their Champions League ties against the Spanish side, with Spurs players saying that the pitch was watered too heavily.

Barca manager Hansi Flick, meanwhile, said that the grass was too long in an attempt to slow the game down, with Atletico 2-1 ahead on aggregate ahead of their home second leg.

Arsenal's late UEFA request emerges

Speaking on CBS Sports, Balague has revealed that the Gunners made a last-minute request to UEFA, asking them to inspect the pitch and check the length of the grass.

"I need to tell you about the grass war that took place, just about an hour ago," Balague said on CBS' pre-match coverage.

"Arsenal, the groundstaff, came in thinking, 'The grass, it's too high. We're not happy with it'.

"They asked UEFA to actually measure it. They weren't happy. They thought that it was Simeone creating some dark arts.

"After a while, UEFA said, no, it's actually 26 millimetres. The limit is 30, because between 21 and 30 is 26. It was the same as when they played Barcelona here."