Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid to advance to the UEFA Champions League final

Arsenal reached the final of the Champions League for the first time in twenty years as Bukayo Saka recorded a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Mikel Arteta’s side settled the second leg of the semi-final with Saka’s goal late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid last week, held on after Saka’s goal to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30. Holders PSG, who defeated Arsenal in the semi-finals last year, have a 5-4 lead for Wednesday’s second leg in Munich.

It was a cathartic evening for Arsenal, who are back in the Champions League final for the first time since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their only previous appearance in the showpiece in 2006.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League, with their two major European trophies being the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

AS IT HAPPENED | Highlights Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

The last continental final ended in a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League.

It’s shaping up to be Arsenal’s best ever season as they chase a Premier League and Champions League double.

Even Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ – who won the club’s last English title in an unbeaten top-flight campaign in 2004 – may have to bow to the current generation if they get the job done.

Fittingly, it was Saka – the homegrown symbol of the Arteta era – who proved to be Arsenal’s match-winner.

Now just four games away from immortality, Premier League leaders Arsenal received a huge boost in the title race as second-placed Manchester City drew with Everton on Monday. The Gunners will be crowned champions if they win their last three games against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

Once the title is decided, Arsenal will head to Hungary with a first Champions League crown in their sights.

Arsenal faced jokes about their perceived lack of mental strength after a run of four defeats in six games in all competitions brought back painful memories of previous failures to end the six-year wait for silverware.

But the «almost men» and «serial choker» labels applied just weeks ago are about to be banished forever.

Arteta was happy

Thousands of Arsenal supporters gathered outside the stadium before kick-off to greet their team with flares and flags, a boisterous display of affection that underlined Arsenal’s desperation to make history.

It was the kind of night in north London where nothing was beyond the realm of possibility, as Arsenal moved closer to throwing off the shackles of two decades of underachievement.

After a number of exciting performances in the run-up to the Premier League, Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Fulham had seen Arsenal at their best in response to critics who claim they only win ugly.

This was a more prosaic display, but it didn’t bother anyone with an affinity for Arsenal in the slightest.

Arsenal were almost caught on the counter during a frantic start when Julian Alvarez fired just wide before Giuliano Simeone’s effort hit the post. But Arsenal recovered from those anxious moments to produce a dominant spell that netted the goal in the 44th minute.

Viktor Gyokeres’ clever run unbalanced Atlético’s defense and his cross found Leandro Trossard in the area. Trossard squeezed into just enough space for a low drive that Jan Oblak weakly pushed out to Saka, who reacted quicker than his flat-footed markers to head home from four yards.

Arteta punched the air in jubilation as the Emirates erupted into a roiling red sea of ​​celebration all around him.

Atletico tried to spoil the party in the second half but Gabriel Magalhaes made a last-ditch tackle on Simeone to prevent a certain goal before David Raya parried Antoine Griezmann’s blast.

Arteta recently revealed that even in the difficult early days of his reign, he envisioned Arsenal conquering the Champions League. The Spaniard is now just one win away from seeing that daydream become a glorious reality.

Published on May 6, 2026