Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli power Arsenal into UEFA Champions League Semi-final, beat Real Madrid
On Wednesday night, Arsenal wrote their own story, and the script-writer Mikel Arteta played a scene that will be remembered by his boys for a long time to come. They indeed produced a memorable night in Europe.
Arsenal’s chief architect Mikel Arteta won the 2019-20 FA Cup, and while Arsenal didn’t get a trophy for this, knocking out the 15-time and current defending champions Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League may well rank as the best achievement of his decorated career to date.
Arsenal FC held off Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals in a stunning and action-packed match at the Bernabeu, Spain. With a 3-0 aggregate score to defend after their superb victory in the first leg last week, the visitors this time had an opportunity to silence the home crowd when they were awarded a penalty, and continued the momentum with a defensive and resilient display by the men in red.
The Spanish national in his first leadership role after three seasons as a coach at the Manchester City FC, got the balance right in both legs of the games, as the Gunners displayed bravery and competitiveness in equal measure. His counterpart Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid FC has won this competition five times, but he was out beaten in this encounter.
Arsenal thoroughly deserved this and let’s not forget, they still don’t have a recognized centre forward due to injury while key centre back Gabriel Magalhães is absent from the backline.
So far, both the teams head-to-head in their Champions League face-offs, Arsenal has won thrice over Real Madrid, and one match ended with a draw result.
To pull a great comeback, all that Real Madrid’s solid chargers were required to do was score a minimum of three goals. However, on a midweek night, against a confident and well-drilled Arsenal defense, the Real Madrid men just weren’t prepared enough, barring just one fiery shot from Vinicius Junior in the second half of the game.
There was plenty of chatter throughout the match, as one would have expected. The crowd got on their feet every time Mbappé or Vinícius had the ball, but in terms of end product, there was nothing achieved.
David Raya, Arsenal’s goalkeeper had just two saves to make all night, and Kylian Mbappé didn’t have a single shot spot on target. His injury, limping off in the 75th minute with an ankle problem, ended as another frustrating night for him and the team.
The Arsenal side may have fallen short in the Premier League, but this is a victory that will give them a genuine belief they can match the other three teams left in this competition. As Arsenal breaks new ground for the first time since 2009, Arteta will hope that an even better night awaits his army in the semifinals
