Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal (1-5 on aggregate) (Vinicius Jr 67′ | Saka 65′, Martinelli 90+3′)
SANTIAGO BERNABEU — On the side of Madrid’s underground trains is an advert to visit the Santiago Bernabeu’s trophy-packed museum, described as the “place to dream.” Arsenal heeded the message, vacating the vast stadium with their Champions League ambitions intact.
It was a more comfortable evening than Arsenal could ever have envisaged. They were clinical in the first leg and disciplined in the second. PSG await in the semis and even that task seems less daunting after Villa shredded the Parisians’ nerves on Tuesday night.
Madrid needed to score the first goal; Bukayo Saka got it instead. Mikel Merino teased a pass behind the defence and Saka dinked it brilliantly over Thibaut Courtois to settle the tie. It was a redemptive strike for Saka after his Panenka penalty fail in the first half.
Gabriel Martinelli added a layer of gloss to a golden night with a fine finish in added time. Arsenal took on the 15-time champions and flipped the numbers around to thrash them 5-1 on aggregate.
Madrid had tried to will a comeback existence, but the Remontada never looked close to materialising. Their performance fell flat, the one bright spot was Vinicius Jr’s goal, gifted by David Raya and William Saliba. Aura? What Aura?
It was strange seeing Madrid so ineffectual. A confident expectation hung in the air all day, like a hunk of Iberico ham in a city centre restaurant. Before kick-off, thousands of Madridistas crowded the Bernabeu’s surrounding streets to welcome the white robed gladiators into their futuristic arena.
Smoke filled the air from a thousand flares and once the bus had vanished the fans feverishly marched on, led by a row of horses as though entering a medieval battle. Inside, a sprawling Tifo depicting a God-like figure and a chessboard was unfurled. The message was clear: Real Madrid, Champions League grandmasters.
Madrid’s intimidation tactics failed to have the desired effect. Arsenal expertly took the sting out of the game blending devious dark arts – Raya was booked for time-wasting after 35 minutes – with disciplined defending. Saliba kept Kylian Mbappe quiet and Arsenal limited Madrid to just 0.11 xG in the first half.
The Gunners sat deep at times, but no London buses were needed to protect the goal. They started brightly and Saka was the livewire, rifling a low shot from range that Courtois parried behind.
The Belgian won the duel again by keeping out Saka’s telegraphed spot-kick, belatedly awarded for a foul by Raul Asencio on Mikel Merino.
More VAR drama followed. Mbappe took a theatrical tumble, the referee pointed to the spot, and an astonished Declan Rice was booked, ruling him out of a potential semi. After a second pitchside review, it was reversed, justice served after a maddening five-minute hiatus.
With inspiration lacking on the pitch, Madrid resorted to bullyboy tactics. The injured Dani Carvajal appeared to make a beeline for Saka at the break. Bellingham tried to rattle Rice into retaliation by grabbing onto his leg like it were a guitar. Arsenal kept their heads.
Nine minutes into the second half Martinelli started showboating and Arsenal fans began to Olé. Mikel Arteta strode to the edge of his technical area, motioning for everyone to just calm down. There was no chance of that after Saka’s chip.
Even after Vinicius’ leveller, Arsenal never appeared to be in danger. The mistake was shrugged off and order restored. The stadium fell silent, unused to seeing their team stifled in this competition. Their competition.
Arsenal’s mentality has been questioned following back-to-back runners-up finishes in the Premier League with a third likely to follow this season. This two-legged tie is proof they can handle the big occasion. They might just lift the biggest prize of all.
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