UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Second Leg

REAL MADRID 1 (Vinicius Junior 67)
ARSENAL 2 (Saka 65, Martinelli 90+3)
Arsenal win 5-1 on aggregate

ARSENAL will take on Paris Saint-Germain for a place in the Champions League final after dumping holders Real Madrid out of Europe tonight (Wednesday).

Despite travelling to Spain boasting a 3-0 lead from the first leg there were plenty of anxious Gooners still fearing that Madrid might bite back at the Bernabeu.

But the Gunners made their hosts looks toothless as goals from Bukayo Saka and an injury-time winner from Gabriel Martinelli sealed a 2-1 win on the night, and a thumping 5-1 victory on aggregate.

“It’s one of the best nights of my career,” Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports after the game. “A really special one. We played against a team that have been an inspiration for us in this competition. To win the tie in this manner, we have to be very proud of ourselves.

“It was my first time on that touchline and quickly you realise anything can happen in this stadium. You have to be here to realise that. I got that feeling straightaway. That if something goes wrong, they score a goal, then it would be game-on. But fortunately things went for us and overall we did what we had to do.

“It is just the third time in our history we have got this far so we need to build on that. We are hungry. We are a young team that are determined.

“All these experiences will help us to try and achieve something big. We had full belief we could beat this team and dominate them but then you have to do it and the players did it.”

Saka was given a golden opportunity to settle any nerves when Arsenal were awarded a 13th-minute penalty after Raul Asencio was caught tugging Mikel Merino’s shirt.

The Gunners’ Starboy doesn’t make many mistakes, but his decision to go for a panenka could have proved a costly one as Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois comfortably palmed the ball away.

But Saka is made of stern stuff. He doesn’t buckle under pressure, and – as much as opposing defenders might wish otherwise – he doesn’t just go away.

Just after the hour-mark the England winger made amends for his miss when he raced onto Merino’s clever pass and casually chipped Courtois.

It was a finish that deserved more than what followed. Less than 90 seconds later Madrid had pulled the scores level – on the night at least – when a terrible mistake from William Saliba gifted Vinicius Junior with an open goal.

The north Londoners, though, maintained their composure, and in stoppage-time got just what they deserved when Martinelli raced clear to clinch a famous victory.

The Gunners reward is a place in the final-four, where they will meet a Paris Saint-Germain side that they have already beaten 2-0 this season.

The French champions have, however, improved a lot since then, and Arteta is expecting a much tougher challenge. He said: “They are an incredible team. I know the manager really well. Let’s enjoy tonight and think about that one soon.

“We have experience against them but they are a different team now. They’re on a incredible run. But we showed tonight we can compete against anyone.

“We want to be in that final. We’ll have to work so hard but we are capable of doing it.”

Real Madrid: Courtois, Vazquez (Endrick, 61), Rudiger, Asencio (Modric, 74), Alaba (Garcia, 61), Tchouameni, Valverde, Bellingham, Rodrygo (Ceballos, 61), Vinicius Junior, Mbappe (Brahim, 75)
Substitute not used: Gonzalez, Mestre, Guler, Vallejo

Arsenal: Raya, Timber (White, 90+5), Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Odegaard, Rice (Zinchenko, 90+5), Saka (Trossard, 77), Martinelli (Tierney, 90+5), Merino
Substitute not used: Neto, Setford, Rosiak, Henry-Francis, Butler-Oyedeji, Gower, Sterling, Nwaneri