Arsenal set sights on Champions League glory with win over Atlético

London — armory reach your first place uefa champions league Final after 20 years bukayo sakaA tap-in in the 45th minute gave the Gunners a 2-1 Semifinal overall win Atletico Madrid.

On a tense and extremely emotional night at the Emirates Stadium, Saka’s close finish was enough to ensure a 1–0 victory that night and there were jubilant scenes at the final whistle as manager Mikel Arteta and his players ran the length of the pitch to celebrate. The Gunners have never won the Champions League before, lost 2-1 barcelona In his only previous appearance in 2006.

Atletico made the better start of the two sides Julian Alvarez And giuliano simeone Both threatened early on, but Arsenal increased their dominance and the deadlock was broken just before the interval. Victor Gyokres Reached the finish line and finally got his cross leandro trossardWho did the shooting on his right leg. atlético goalkeeper jan oblak Saved his shot, but Saka was first to the rebound.

Simeone was denied a chance to equalize due to an excellent challenge Gabriel MagalhaesWhile at the other end, Gyökeres side-footed a shot over the crossbar unmarked from 12 yards.

atlético substitute Alexander Sorloth A late chance was missed, and Arsenal looked to secure victory and set up a clash with either Paris Saint Germain Or Bayern Munich On 30 May in Budapest. –James Ollie

– O’Hanlon: Why the Champions League tells us nothing about the Premier League
– Ogden: Why are central midfielders this summer’s biggest transfer trend?
– Mohammed: Nagelsmann to Man United? Matching top teams with new managers

Historic night for Arsenal

Arteta has often highlighted Arsenal’s modest record in this competition as a reminder to any disbelievers that they are already excelling in relative terms. This was the first time they had reached consecutive Champions League semi-finals, and are now reaching their second final, 20 years after their first.

The atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium matched that moment. Thousands of fans lined the streets to welcome the team bus, unveiled a new tifo as the teams walked out, and the noise throughout the evening was deafening. The final whistle was nothing short of a party. Arteta encouraged his players to line up together and run towards the celebrating supporters at both ends of the pitch.

There has been some debate over whether Arteta deserves a new contract – he has 12 months left on his current deal – as Arsenal fans look to whether he can turn this team around and win major trophies after a six-year drought. That last question has yet to be answered, but achievements like this are historic moments. The Spaniard may have already silenced his doubters. –Oli

Simeone’s Atleti fall behind once again

For 90 minutes it seemed as if Diego Simeone kicked every Emirates ball. The Atlético coach never once sat on his bench, instead he spent the entire game on the sidelines – or often outside – of his technical area, giving instructions to his players and disputing the referee’s every decision. There was never a moment when Simeone was not trying to make tactical changes, adjust the shape of the team and find answers to the problems facing Atlético.

In extra time, as the rain fell, Simeone was still there, almost on the pitch, telling the referee to hurry up the Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya The forward taking one last goal kick and earning a yellow card. The coach has transformed Atlético as a club from top to bottom, turning them into Champions League regulars, a real force in European football and two-time finalists in this competition. But there won’t be a third time, at least not this season.

Atlético’s 2025–26 Champions League campaign was admirable, particularly in the elimination of Barcelona, ​​and there were long spells in the contest where Simeone’s team were equal to, or even better than, Arsenal. But he lacked the ability to be clinical – Simeone’s favorite word in Spanish, contundania–At critical moments. Here, he did not take advantage of the limited opportunities he had. Simeone was active in the second half, and he dared to withdraw his two most talented players, antoine griezmann And Alvarez early – Sorloth spurned a great chance to equalize – but the coach’s courageous decisions were not rewarded.

At full time, Simeone was on the pitch again, heading to the far corner to salute the traveling Atlético fans. Along with the legendary captain also CokeWhich was excellent, Simeone was the last man off the pitch. Both have been through a lot in Europe since the 2014 final. It remains to be seen whether he will get such an opportunity again or not. –Alex Kirkland

Arsenal’s homegrown star performs well again

Saka’s return to Arsenal’s lineup has come at the right time. For weeks, he has lacked a consistent edge in the final third, but last Saturday, he needed just 45 minutes to make a putt. fulham Away with a fantastic assist and a great goal. His winning strike here was a simple tap-in but still required alertness to react first as Oblak turned Trossard’s shot wide to his left.

Saka became the first Arsenal player to score in two Champions League semi-finals since his goal against Paris Saint-Germain 12 months earlier. He has now scored the same number of goals in back-to-back matches – as many as he had scored in his previous 26 matches – while struggling for form and fitness.

Only Sol Campbell has scored in the final for Arsenal in 2006. Saka had to go off after an hour as his return from an Achilles injury was carefully managed, but it was another step up for the 24-year-old. Don’t bet against Campbell matching his accomplishment in Budapest. –Oli

Griezmann left everything on the pitch

Simeone told his players to “give their soul, their everything” in Atlético Madrid’s biggest game in almost a decade. Griezmann did the same.

Now in his last Champions League appearance, the 35-year-old delivered a typically excellent performance for Atletico, serving as a powerful reminder of what the team will lose this summer, and what Orlando City will gain. His contribution was summed up in one moment in the first half: tracking back into the Atlético penalty area to help his team defend, and then celebrating as if he had scored a goal when he helped his team win a goal kick. In his 66 minutes on the field, Griezmann’s statistics outside of possession were impressive: four tackles, eight duels and two recoveries. At that time, only one Atletico teammate made more contributions in defense.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Griezmann was involved in almost every promising attacking play for the visitors. When Atlético’s first chance came for Álvarez in the eighth minute, Griezmann initiated the move. Three minutes later, it was Griezmann’s pullback that forced Raya into a save, with Giuliano Simeone close to converting the second ball. In the second half, with Atlético trailing by a goal, Griezmann came closest to scoring an equalizer – his shot was saved by Raya before the forward was fouled. Riccardo Calafiori. Atlético were angry at not being awarded a penalty kick.

Griezmann was substituted in the 66th minute, not because he had performed poorly, but because he had given everything. There will be no chance for him to exorcise the ghost of 2016, when he missed a penalty in the final. When he left, it seemed as if Atletico’s prospects went with him. –Kirkland

The Gunners’ rock-solid defense remains strong

A major reason for the Gunners’ recent wobble Premier League The problem was that they started scoring goals, whereas in the first campaign, scoring one was always enough to win. He faced no such problems in the Champions League, conceding only six goals in the 14 matches leading up to the final. Only two teams in Champions League history have more than Arsenal’s nine shutouts this season (2015–16 Real Madrid, 2005–06 Arsenal).

Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are cementing their reputation as one of the finest centre-back pairings in Europe, and the former was particularly invaluable here. Some key moments went their way, notably when Simeone was challenged in the box six minutes after half-time. With Arsenal also having a great chance to equalise, Sorloth needed to show his lines five minutes from the end. But these bits of luck have been earned by a team that has been very strong at the back, to the extent that they are still unbeaten in the competition.

PSG or Bayern Munich will provide their toughest test yet, but if they defend strongly for another night, they will have a chance. –Oli