Arsenal storm Champions League final

London, UK | ARSENAL.COM |  Arsenal have reached the UEFA Champions League for just the second time in their history after beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-final.

Bukayo Saka’s 44th-minute strike was enough to edge Arsenal past the La Liga side in the second leg and means they will now face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final, which will be held at Budapest’s Puskas Stadium on Saturday, May 30 (5pm UK time).

After a six-season absence from Europe’s premier competition, under Mikel Arteta Arsenal have improved every season since to make it to the showpiece this time around. In 2023/24 they reached the quarter-finals, while last term, eventual winners PSG ended their hopes at the semi-final stage.

But this time around, Arsenal have gone an extra step to make it to the final for the first time in 20 years and the second time in their history after a 2006 defeat against Barcelona in Paris.

With the game finely poised after last week’s 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital, Arsenal grabbed the all-important goal on 44 minutes when Leandro Trossard’s shot was parried into Saka’s path to tuck home, and set up a grandstand second 45.

Some excellent defensive shifts saw Arsenal  get over the line as they repelled everything the visitors threw at them and, backed by deafening support throughout, got over the line to book a spot in the final in Budapest – one last step away from their dream of lifting the European Cup for the first time in their history.

When Arsenal take to the field at the Puskas Arena, Mikel will be the second-youngest manager to lead them into a major European final (44y 65d on May 30), after Terry Neill in the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup (38y 6d v Valencia).

Arsenal supporters have had to be patient to return to the biggest game in European club football – their two-decade-long wait is the longest period between European Cup/Champions League finals by a team since Atletico Madrid themselves in 2014 (40 years), and longest by an English side since Liverpool in 2005 (also 20 years).

But there has been no stopping Arsenal in this season’s competition. They became the first team in the competition’s history to win all eight matches in the league phase and then overcame Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Lisbon 3-1 and 1-0 on aggregate, respectively, to make it to the final four, where they beat Atleti.

The 1-1 draw in Madrid followed by the 1-0 success in the second leg at Emirates Stadium has seen Arsenal go 14 consecutive matches without defeat for the first time in their European Cup/Champions League history. Of the 44 instances of a team playing 14 or more times in a campaign, Arsenal are now the only one to remain unbeaten.

One more victory at the end of the month will see Arsenal get their hands on the famous piece of silverware for the first time in their 139-year history.

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SOURCE: Arsenal.com

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