Arsenal FC continues to play an almost perfect Champions League season: the Gunners played 14 games in the premier class and didn’t lose a single one. It was also an extremely competitive game against Atletico Madrid in the second leg – in the end one goal was enough for a 1-0 (1-0) win, with which Arsenal celebrated their first final appearance in 20 years.
Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal shortly before half-time with a goal after Atletico keeper Jan Oblak had made a strong save. The Madrilenians defended themselves as best they could and also had chances, but overall Arsenal presented themselves as extremely stable as they had throughout the season.
As in the extremely competitive first leg, the Londoners won without much of a spectacle, but not undeservedly. “You see what it means to us“, said match winner Saka on Amazon Prime: “It’s a beautiful story – and I hope it ends well in Budapest.” There, Arsenal will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain on May 30th (Wednesday, 9 p.m., live in the Sportschau radio report).
Large rotation at Simeone, proven forces at the Gunners
The coaches took different approaches to the setup. In view of the exciting Premier League title fight, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta sent the same team onto the pitch as against Fulham (3-0) – Germany international Kai Havertz took a seat on the bench after an injury. Diego Simeone, on the other hand, replaced ten men – the Argentine was able to rest a number of players in the 2-0 win against Valencia last weekend.
The perhaps slightly fresher “Colchoneros” got into the game better. Atletico became particularly dangerous after moments of transition, Julian Alvarez got his first dangerous shot early (8th), shortly afterwards Declan Rice blocked Simeone’s son Giuliano’s attempt (12th). But that was it for quite some time with great opportunities: the game was full of intensity and excitement.
Arsenal secured more and more of the game, but without becoming compelling – until Saka struck. William Saliba played a clever ball behind Atletico’s defensive line, Victor Gyökeres claimed the ball in front of the onrushing goalkeeper Jan Oblak. After Gyökeres’ cross, Leandro Trossard got the ball, who took his time but then shot sharply towards the far corner. Oblak made a strong save and Saka pushed the rebounding ball into the goal to give Arsenal a somewhat fortunate lead at the break.
Bukayo Saka scores the goal to make it 1-0 for Arsenal
Atletico comes out of the dressing room powerfully
Now Atletico had to come and Atletico came. After a mistake by Saliba, Simeone was up and running, put the ball past Arsenal keeper David Raya and only had to push it in. But because central defender Gabriel interfered decisively without committing a foul, Simeone stumbled and was unable to finish (51′).
Shortly afterwards, Atletico and Antoine Griezmann called for a penalty whistle. But the German referee Daniel Siebert had seen a foul by a Madrilenian in advance (56th), which he punished – a controversial but justifiable decision.
Antoine Griezmann discusses with referee Daniel Siebert
Both coaches changed three times, then suddenly Arsenal was back in control. Joker Noni Madueke fired a dangerous long-range shot, shortly afterwards center forward Gyökeres should have scored when he placed an exemplary cross from Piero Hincapie over the goal (66th). But that didn’t dampen the good mood at the Emirates: The Gunners were now anticipating a place in the final and were building up the mood, while Simeone paced up and down the sidelines even more restlessly than usual in view of the impending bankruptcy.
Bayern or PSG – who will be Arsenal’s opponents?
Simeone had every reason to do so, as he saw his team grinding their teeth against the stable London defense. Atletico didn’t get more than periods of possession around the Gunners’ penalty area. Rather, the Londoners created further chances when counterattacking at high speed, but these remained unused. The final phase was ultimately characterized by a lot of time wasted by the Londoners, which caused frustration for Atletico and led to arguments on the sidelines.
In the end, Arteta’s team was still able to celebrate: Arsenal are in the premier class final for the first time since May 2006. Back then they lost 1-2 to FC Barcelona, this time they will want a different result in London in order to win the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. Even if the opponent, like back then, will be a strong one – regardless of whether it is Bayern or PSG.
