Atletico

Bukayo Saka reacts quickest as Leandro Trossard’s shot is saved by Jan Oblak, putting in the rebound from close range to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emiates Stadium.

MATCH REPORT: Champions League – Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid (2-1 agg)

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It might seem odd to suggest an English club reaching a Champions League final have been in danger of going under the radar – but that has almost been the case for Arsenal this year.

Such has been the immense pressure piled upon Mikel Arteta’s side to end a 22-wait for a Premier League title, their remarkable unbeaten run to the European showpiece in Budapest has arguably not got the credit it deserves.

Bukayo Saka’s first-half tap-in gave the Gunners a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg, securing a 2-1 aggregate victory.

In truth, while their display at Emirates Stadium was not necessarily vintage, some of Arsenal‘s best performances of the season have come in Europe.

The Gunners remain the only unbeaten team left in the Champions League, defeating teams like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Sporting along the way.

There has been a desperation to win the league – which, indeed, they could well go on to do as well given Manchester City‘s draw at Everton 24 hours before this semi-final.

But there has been a quiet ruthlessness in Arsenal‘s European games – rarely troubled, rarely in danger of going out.

“I don’t think you can underestimate what we have done in this competition up to this point,” midfielder Declan Rice told Amazon Prime.

“We have every right to celebrate that moment. The most prestigious competition in club football. We are just trying to soak it all in.

“We knew coming into the game what was at stake. If you can’t get up for that, then you can’t get up for any game of football.

“When we went 1-0 up, I knew we were going to win. I could feel something special building.”

The Arsenal supporters welcomed the team bus with flares and chants – the first time that has happened at the stadium – setting the tone and atmosphere for what Arteta described as “an incredible night”.

“We made history again together,” said Arteta. “I cannot be happier, prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club. The manner that we [were] received outside the stadium was special and unique.

“The atmosphere, our support has created the energy, the way they managed every ball with us… I never felt that in the stadium [before].

“We knew how much it meant to everybody… the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years and a second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”

Bukayo Saka seals a 1-0 win for Arsenal as they take their Champions League semifinal 2-1 on aggregate against Atletico.

Arsenal has reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as Bukayo Saka sealed a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid.

Mikel Arteta’s side settled the semifinal second leg with Saka’s strike late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

The Gunners, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid last week, held firm after Saka’s goal to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30.

Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semifinals last year, have a 5-4 lead ahead of the second leg in Munich on Wednesday.

It was a cathartic night for Arsenal, who are back in the Champions League final for the first time since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their only previous appearance in the showpiece in 2006.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League, with their two major European trophies coming in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Their last continental final ended in a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League.

It is shaping up to be Arsenal’s greatest ever season as they chase a Premier League and Champions League double.

Even Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”, who won the club’s last English title in an unbeaten top-flight campaign in 2004, might have to bow to the current generation if they finish the job.

Fittingly, it was Saka, the homegrown symbol of the Arteta era, who proved Arsenal’s match-winner.

Now just four games from immortality, Premier League leaders Arsenal were given a huge boost in the title race when second-placed Manchester City drew at Everton on Monday.

The Gunners will be crowned champions if they win their last three games against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

Once the title is decided, Arsenal will head to Hungary with a maiden Champions League crown in their sights.

Arsenal endured jibes about their perceived lack of mental strength after a run of four defeats in six games, in all competitions, sparked painful memories of previous failures to end their six-year wait for silverware.

But the “nearly-men” and “serial choker” labels applied only weeks ago are on the verge of being banished forever.

Thousands of Arsenal supporters massed outside the stadium before kickoff to greet their team with flares and flags, a vociferous display of affection underlining Arsenal’s desperation to make history.

It was the kind of evening in north London when nothing was beyond the realm of possibility as Arsenal moved closer to casting off the shackles of two decades of underachievement.

After some tense performances during the Premier League run-in, Saturday’s 3-0 rout of Fulham showed Arsenal at their flowing best, a riposte to the critics who claim they only win ugly.

This was a more prosaic display, but no one with an affinity for Arsenal was bothered in the slightest.

Arsenal were nearly caught on the counter in a frenetic start when Julian Alvarez shot just wide before Giuliano Simeone’s close-range effort deflected past the post.

But Arsenal recovered from those anxious moments to deliver a dominant spell, which brought their 44th-minute goal.

Viktor Gyokeres’s clever run unhinged the Atletico defence, and his cross reached Leandro Trossard inside the area.

Trossard wriggled into just enough space for a low drive that Jan Oblak weakly pushed out to Saka, who reacted quicker than his flat-footed markers to slot home from 4 yards (3.7 metres).

Arteta jubilantly punched the air as the Emirates erupted into a roiling red sea of celebration.

Atletico tried to ruin the party in the second half, but Gabriel Magalhaes made a last-ditch tackle on Simeone to avert a certain goal before David Raya repelled Antoine Griezmann’s blast.

Arteta recently revealed that he had visualised Arsenal conquering the Champions League, even in the difficult early days of his reign.

The Spaniard is now just one win away from seeing the daydream become a glorious reality.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes that the penalty awarded against Atletico Madrid for a foul on Eberechi Eze was not a “clear and obvious error”, meaning VAR did not need to intervene and the original on-field decision to give the penalty should have stood.

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal draw at Atletico after penalty controversy

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We’ve had two nights of handball controversy, first involving Bayern Munich and now Arsenal.

In both cases, the ball took a deflection off the body before hitting the arm, and fans have been conditioned into thinking this means there cannot be a penalty.

What referees actually look for is a clear change of trajectory. Why is that? Because it means the arm position would not create a barrier to the natural direction of the ball.

If the ball stays on roughly its intended path, then the ball touching the arm takes precedent.

The penalty given against Alphonso Davies on Tuesday would not have been awarded in the Premier League as the arm was too close to the body.

For Uefa, the fact that the arm moves out from the body before the ball hits it would trump the small deflection.

But Ben White’s handball against Atletico was a very clear penalty under Uefa’s definition. The arm was a long way out from the body and came in to make contact with the ball.

There is some discretion if the arm is being brought in to make the body smaller, but in White’s case it started from so far out, a penalty would be expected.

The Premier League is more relaxed than Europe even when it comes to deflections before a handball. That said, Arsenal defender Gabriel should have really conceded a penalty at Newcastle earlier this season as his arm, when sliding, was raised very high and the deflection off the body was negligible.

Would the ball deflecting off White’s shin have caused VAR to stay out of this in the Premier League? Possibly, but the movement of the arm was very clear.

A definite spot-kick in Europe, borderline for the Premier League.