The fabled remontada never arrived. Instead, it was Arsenal who produced one of the great Champions League nights. Mikel Arteta’s men were brave, strong and victorious as they completed the job and marched into their first Champions League semi final for 16 years.
This was some statement by Arsenal as they overwhelmed mighty Real Madrid at the Emirates last week – and then delivered another sensational victory.
It was the sort of performance and result which will have Arsenal fans believing and dreaming they can go all the way because, over the course of two legs, they were the ones who looked like experienced European campaigners.
They face Paris Saint Germain next and you can be sure a 5-1 aggregate score against the 15 time European champions will make everyone sit up and take notice.
Arsenal were almost as impressive in this second leg as they were in the first because to come to the Bernabeu and win takes something really special.
All this talk about the remontada – the Spanish word for comeback – had fooled the locals into actually believing it could happen. But it never looked remotely on.
Bukayo Saka made up for a shocking missed penalty in the first half by putting Arsenal ahead with an exquisite finish only then for William Saliba to make the only mistake of the night to gift Vinicius Junior an equaliser.
But even then Arsenal held firm, slowed it down and quelled the noise and atmosphere before Gabriel Martinelli delivered the knock-out blow in injury time.
What a way to seal victory and end the night. No wonder the Arsenal fans up in the Gods were celebrating and singing their hearts out at the final whistle.
The last time Arsenal came to the Bernabeu they won 1-0 and went all the way to the final in 2006 only to fall at the final hurdle.
But now Arteta will take great confidence that he can deliver the ultimate prize and the European Cup which evaded even Arsene Wenger, the greatest manager in the club’s history.
A new chapter beckons for Arteta and that comes from a superbly disciplined display. They kept Real Madrid at arm’s length, reduced to an endless stream of crosses and did not get a shot on target until the 56th minute.
Declan Rice bossed midfield, dominated his England team mate Jude Bellingham and that almost typified the difference in quality between the two sides on the night.
Arsenal were magnificent. They have fallen short in this season’s title race. So what does Arteta do? Leads Arsenal on a European charge.
The game’s first real flashpoint came after 11 minutes. After a VAR check, French referee François Letexier gave a penalty for Raul Asencio’s shirt pull on Mikel Merino.
It was a gift for Arsenal – and yet they spurned it in horrible fashion. Martin Odegaard looked as if he was going to take it, Saka took over and his weak penalty – a chip but to one side so hardly a panenka – was saved by Courtois.
The volume went up and then Real Madrid were awarded a penalty – only for the referee to change his mind after a lengthy VAR check. Rice had challenged Kylian Mbappe but it was never a penalty.
Arsenal grew in belief and went ahead after 65 minutes. A lovely patient build-up was followed by Mikel Merino’s smart through ball and there was Saka to delightfully chip Courtois. The away fans up on the Gods went wild.
Sadly for them, the lead on the night only lasted two minutes. Saliba switched off, did not see Vinicius Jr creeping up and the Real superstar smashed home. It was Arsenal’s only significant mistake across two legs. Thomas Partey got a late booking to rule him out of the semi final.
But Arsenal were not to be denied. Merino sent Martinelli scampering through and he slotted into the far corner. These nights go down in club legend.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
