Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid (2-1 agg): Is this Gunners’ time to win Champions League?
It may seem odd to suggest that an English club reaching the Champions League final was in danger of flying under the radar, but that almost turned out to be the case. Arsenal this year.
Such has been the immense pressure on Mikel Arteta to end the 22 wait for the Premier League title; The extraordinary unbeaten run that led to Europe’s showpiece in Budapest did not receive the credit it arguably deserved.
In Tuesday’s semi-final second leg, Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid for a 2-1 aggregate victory.
In fact, some of Arsenal’s best performances this season have come in Europe, although their display at the Emirates Stadium was not necessarily vintage.
Arsenal remain the only unbeaten team in the Champions League, having defeated the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Sporting.
There was desperation to win the league; In fact, they could have done that too, given Manchester City’s draw with Everton 24 hours before the semi-final.
But there is a quiet ruthlessness to Arsenal’s European matches; rarely troubled, rarely in danger of being put out of play.
“I don’t think you can underestimate what we’ve done so far in this competition,” midfielder Declan Rice told Amazon Prime.
“We have every right to celebrate that moment. It’s the most prestigious competition in club football. We’re just trying to soak it all in.”
“We knew going into the game what was at stake. If you can’t stand up for that, then you can’t stand up for any football match.
“When we went up 1-0 I knew we were going to win. I could feel something special was happening.”
Arsenal fans greeted the team bus with flares and chants – the first time this had happened at the stadium – setting the tone and atmosphere for what Arteta described as an “incredible night”.
“Together we wrote history again,” Arteta said. “I couldn’t be happier or prouder for everyone involved in this football club. [were] The reception outside the stadium was special and unique.
“The atmosphere, our support created the energy, the way they managed every ball with us… I never felt that in the stadium [before].
“We knew how important this was for everyone… the boys did an incredible job and we are back in the Champions League final for the second time in our history in 20 years.”
