Arsenal have advanced to the Champions League final after a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday. The Gunners had played a 1-1 draw at the first leg of the semi final in Madrid last week. However, Bukayo Saka’s first-half tap-in the second leg to secure a 2-1 aggregate proved to be all Mikel Arteta’s side needed to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years.
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Once again, Arteta’s men have shown they specialise in the ugly wins. The game at the Emirates Stadium was far from perfect, but it took one sloppy move from Atletico to secure the first final ticket to Budapest.
Arsenal’s semi final success is primarily attributed to their defense, which was rock solid throughout the night. It was so good that Atleti was restricted to one clear shot on goal. Giuliano Simeone failed to take advantage of a rare error from William Saliba, which would prove costly in the end.
“I don’t think you can underestimate what we have done in this competition up to this point,” midfielder Declan Rice told Amazon Prime. “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,” the England international added.
With the Champions League final spot secured, Arsenal will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich who play later today at the Allianz Stadium. Bayern and PSG are no easy opponents, as they are known for punishing any defensive errors. But that is not Arsenal’s problem for now as the Gunners continue to celebrate a historic win against a side that is famously known for their tight defense.
