From a record-breaking domestic season to a date with destiny in Budapest on May 30 – is this finally Arsenal’s year to lift the big ears? Yankee Scores has the full historic breakdown.
A historic night for Arsenal at the Emirates, where they qualified for the final of UEFA Champions League following a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid, resulting in a 2-1 win on aggregate.
Arsenal had played a 1-1 draw at Riyadh Air Metropolitano last Wednesday.
The Decisive Goal
It was Bukayo Saka’s tap-in in the 45th minute that made the absolute difference as the Spanish opponents struggled to rip open the Arsenal defense.
Arsenal made it to the final first time in 20 years. Arsenal has won all but UEFA Champions League. They lost to 2-1 to Barcelona in 2006.
Missed Chances
The dreams of Simeone of scoring an equalizer were shattered by a great tackle from Gabriel Magalhães right after Gyökeres side-footed the ball past the crossbar from 12 yards out, unmarked.
Late in the match, Atlético made way for Alexander Sørloth, but he failed to capitalize on the last chance he got. The Arsenal side held on to their lead to claim victory and move on to face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in Budapest on May 30.
Historic Milestone
Emirates erupted into euphoric scenes at the final whistle as manager Mikel Arteta and his players ran the length of the pitch to celebrate.
“That box is ticked now, now we have to maintain it. Now we go to the level that I think a top club that wants to be fighting consistently for the highest trophies, that’s a must. We’ve got it now, now we have to maintain it”, Arteta said.
“The high is not too high, the low is not too low, my job is to be quite stable. I really will enjoy it, everyone is enjoying this moment now. Tomorrow we have to start to prepare for Sunday, we have an incredible game now to play against West Ham, a really tough one and we’re going to have four days to do that. It’s great, let’s enjoy the moment”.
Arteta Hails Players
Arteta believes the progression into final is as a result of hard work and luck.
“It’s very tough and difficult but again we’ve all been so aligned on the desire and ambition that we have for the club. Then you have to be sometimes lucky, things have to go your way. We put obviously so much work, passion and belief into what we do and today we got rewarded to have an incredible day in Budapest in a few weeks.
“It’s an incredible night. We made history again together. I cannot be happier and prouder of everyone involved in this football club. The manner that we got to see outside the stadium was special and unique. The atmosphere that our supporters created, the energy, the way they lived every ball with us, it made it special and unique”.
“I never felt that in the stadium. We knew how much it meant to everybody. We put everything in, the boys did an incredible job. After 20 years and for the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final”, he concluded.
