Arsenal overcame Real Madrid’s star players and their history of improbable comebacks, securing a 2-1 victory on Wednesday to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a convincing 5-1 aggregate win.
Having established a significant 3-0 lead in the first leg of their quarter-final tie last week, the Gunners traveled to the Spanish capital and booked their place in the final four for the first time since 2009, where they are set to face Paris Saint-Germain.
Bukayo Saka put Arsenal ahead, although he had missed a first-half penalty.
While Vinicius Junior equalized for the 15-time champions, they never looked likely to overcome the deficit.
Gabriel Martinelli added to Real Madrid’s disappointment with a late winner for Arsenal, who are yet to win the Champions League trophy.
Declan Rice, who scored two impressive free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports, “We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win.
It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club… we want to win this competition.”
Real Madrid, appearing less formidable than when they achieved a Champions League and La Liga double the previous season, were confident in their ability to turn the tie around but struggled to create meaningful chances against Arsenal’s solid defense.
The Premier League team maintained their composure to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.
“It’s a difficult moment… it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,” Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar. “We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job.”
An early goal by Kylian Mbappe was disallowed for offside, with the forward urging the crowd to increase their support, hoping to create the legendary atmosphere that often helps Madrid achieve unlikely comebacks at the Santiago Bernabeu.
David Alaba received a yellow card for a foul on Saka as Madrid attempted to inject some aggression into their play, something they sorely lacked in their first-leg defeat in London. Arsenal’s winger also had a shot well saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty after the VAR intervened, instructing the referee to review an earlier incident from a corner.
Raul Asencio was seen pulling back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the penalty area, leading to the penalty decision, much to the home crowd’s bewilderment.
Saka took the penalty, but his poorly executed Panenka attempt went wide to the left and was saved by Courtois.
This seemed to motivate Real Madrid, who soon had a penalty appeal of their own when Mbappe went down after a challenge from Rice.
However, following a lengthy VAR review, the referee took a second look and decided that Rice had not fouled the French star.
The stoppages in play, along with Arsenal’s deliberate slowing down of the game at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum, and they struggled to pose a threat to Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Despite Madrid’s efforts, their goalkeeper did not have a save to make in the first half.
Martin Odegaard, facing his former club where he was once a highly-rated young player, played a key role in Arsenal’s opening goal in the 65th minute.
The Norwegian linked up with Merino, who then played Saka through on goal.
The Englishman atoned for his earlier penalty miss with a composed dinked finish.
With a four-goal advantage in the tie, Arsenal might have become complacent.
Just two minutes after Saka’s goal, defender William Saliba lost possession on the edge of his own box, allowing Vinicius to steal the ball and beat the out-of-position Raya to equalize.
Madrid’s fading hopes were further diminished when Mbappe limped off with an ankle injury with 15 minutes remaining. Martinelli then sealed Arsenal’s victory with a cool finish after being set up by Merino.
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