Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal achieved a competition first with their 1-0 (2-1 on aggregate) win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg.
The sides came into the second leg of the tie locked at 1-1 on aggregate following last week’s first leg at the Metropolitano.
As many expected, the second match of the semi-final was a cagey affair, with few clear-cut chances for either side.
But it was Bukayo Saka’s strike on the stroke of half-time that secured Arsenal a historic victory and sent them through to their first Champions League final in 20 years — and just the second in the club’s history — where the winners of Bayern Munich versus Paris Saint-Germain await them in Budapest on May 30.
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A victory in the Hungarian capital would make the Arsenal squad immortal and etch their names into the club’s history books. However, the 2025/26 side have already achieved something no other team has.
According to Opta, Arsenal are now the only team to have played 14 or more Champions League games in a single campaign while remaining unbeaten in the competition.
Shortly after the match, match-winner Saka described the moment as “beautiful” when speaking to Amazon Prime.
"You're taking me away from the celebrations, man!" he said. "It is so beautiful. You see what it means to us and what it means to the fans.
"Yes, we're so happy. Easier said than done. This was a high-pressure game. It means a lot to both sides. We managed it well and took ourselves to the final. It started before the game when we were arriving on the coach. I have never seen anything like it.
"Sometimes it bounces for you, and sometimes it doesn't, but you have to be there — and I was there. I got my goal.
"There is no way you are going to come to this position and not have pressure. How can you not expect people to talk about you and criticise you? That's why we have got to block it out.
"It is a beautiful story and I hope it ends well in Budapest."
Midfielder Declan Rice, who put in two solid performances in the tie, described the Arsenal dressing room as “chaos” before praising his team-mates.
Rice said: “I don't think you can underestimate what we have done in this competition up to this point. I think 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."
Arsenal return to Premier League action away at West Ham on May 10.
Topics: Arsenal, Champions League, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Football, UEFA, Premier League
Luke Davies