Arsenal on Tuesday reached the UEFA 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 semi-final second leg with Saka’s strike late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium.
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.
Photo: Reuters
Arsenal are to face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30.
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 an English 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 would be crowned champions if they win their last three games against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Once the title is decided, Arsenal are to 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.
However, 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 kick-off 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 in a riposte to the critics who claim they only win ugly.
This was a more prosaic display, but nobody with an affinity to 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.
However, the Gunners recovered from those anxious moments to deliver a dominant spell that brought their 44th minute goal.
Viktor Gyokeres’ clever run unhinged the Atletico defense 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 four yards.
Arteta jubilantly punched the air as all around him 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 said he visualized Arsenal conquering the Champions League even in the difficult early days of his reign.
The Spaniard is just one win away from seeing that daydream become a glorious reality.
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