Arsenal indeed “write their own history”, with the extra flourish that the only remontada was Bukayo Saka’s. The forward overcame his early penalty miss to score the divine goal that has ultimately eliminated the European champions, with Gabriel Martinelli then killing any dying belief that Real Madrid had to turn a great night into a great win. There was even the literal lovely touch of how Saka’s penalty was a lifted Panenka gone wrong, only for the forward to lift it over Thibaut Courtois in even better fashion.
Arsenal have now ascended to the Champions League semi-final for just the third time in their history. Perhaps it is fitting that they will return to Paris, where they lost their only Champions League final in 2006, to add to that sense of history building.
Belief will only grow with it, as Madrid may now be developing a complex about Arsenal. They are the only club to have played Madrid twice in the history of European competition and not been knocked out once.
That’s the kind of scale Mikel Arteta can now talk about. Arsenal may not have reached the performance heights of their pulverisation of Madrid in the first leg, but this was almost as impressive in its own way. Arteta’s side so professionally withstood Madrid’s attack to more consummately withstand all of the psychology around the remontada. The European champions never got close. They couldn’t. William Saliba’s atypical slip for Vinicius Junior to make it 1-1 stood out all the more because it was so rare in this match.
Arsenal did a number on Madrid. They also looked more than the sum of their parts. Put bluntly, they are much more of a team, with more players obviously needed. That’s even more to the manager’s credit given he was missing Gabriel Magalhaes at one end and any kind of striker at the other. For all of Madrid’s experience and expensive talent in that exact area, though, they badly missed a Martin Odegaard. He was supreme, offering one of those individual performances that are always essential parts of great team nights like this. Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jakub Kiwior were also up there, not to mention the irrepressible Saka.
No-one was up there with Declan Rice, though. He offered a career display, not just standing up in an arena like the Bernabeu but rampaging all over it. Almost every time Madrid even offered a suggestion they might work a way through, there was Rice. He was either just winning the ball or, more symbolically, winning it and driving the ball up the field. This was captain stuff, reminiscent of Patrick Vieira or Roy Keane.
And to think that’s where Madrid have some of their most energetic talent. That might be one of the issues.
Madrid have the fastest attack in world football, where the very names can strike fear, but there’s an obvious issue with it. They don’t currently have the other players to maximise them. The forward line can move fast, sure, but it can’t really move with much variety.
There is no one directing the play. It made the pre-game tifo of a wizened figure playing chess all the more ironic. Madrid just didn’t have any kind of grand master moving the pieces. You can really see how crucial both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric together were to their entire Champions League era. They imposed a style, and more sophisticated patterns of play. Without them — or at least without a prime Modric — Madrid just repeated the same pattern. The ball was played out wide for one of Vinicius Jr or Rodrygo to run at Arsenal’s full-backs, only to run out of space.
The weapon they seemed to be relying on most was psychology, and the idea of what might happen when they scored. When they eventually did that, Arsenal had already got one themselves, and it was telling they needed to rely on Arteta’s side suddenly being unusually casual.
It wasn’t like it came out of general play. Saliba didn’t see Vinicius coming from a slightly strange moment, and the Brazilian was left to force it into an empty net.
The 67th-minute strike represented a rare moment when Arsenal gave them anything. The entire backline had been so assured, generally keeping their positioning so well but also offering significant interventions when necessary. One Kiwior interception as the second half built was superb and, dare we say it, Rice-like.
The issue wasn’t just where Madrid’s attack moved, though. It was how they moved. Their running stats represented a huge theme before the game when it was revealed Arsenal had clocked 14km more in the first leg. Bellingham even spoke about the need to up it and put it in, which were words somewhat undercut by actions. When Odegaard typically glided past the midfielder in the first half, Bellingham didn’t chase.
Later on, as Arsenal started to build the play that eventually led to Saka’s goal, the star trio were seen strolling around up front. You could say they were waiting to use their speed in the most effective way. Except, without proper modern pressing at this level, you’re likely to be left waiting.
That was almost their entire game. One description of the Bernabeu on nights like this is of a “torture chamber”, and almost worse than the worst actually happening is the wait, the build-up. It’s how the fascinating psychology of this works. It was just as well Arteta had evidently done his research on it, and drilled his team so well.
For less focused teams, a 3-0 might not feel like a 3-0 when Vinicius is running at your goal at pace. It’s not just the threat of a goal. It’s the threat of what a goal would mean. It wouldn’t just be 1-0, it would be one less, with the wave building.
That’s how it happens. There’s an ebb and flow to these occasions, with every turn having a wider effect on what follows. That is what Arsenal so impressively withstood, which was all the more impressive given the early emotional swing with the penalties back-and-forth.
Arsenal had a slightly tetchy opening, with Rice often having to drive the ball out of defence. They were then offered the opportunity to not just settle their nerves but settle the tie. Mikel Merino was pulled down by Raul Asencio, and Arsenal were awarded a penalty after a delayed VAR check. It very much wasn’t a home-town decision, but it was impossible not to wonder if the circumstances affected Saka’s decision. He opted for a Panenka, only to undercut their value by going to the side. Courtois palmed it away.
It would have been easy for Arsenal to allow some intrusive thoughts, especially with the knowledge of how these things can go. This is how it starts. It then picked up when Madrid were awarded an even softer penalty for an adjudged Rice push on Mbappe.
They needed it, because they had been creating so little. David Raya’s most frenetic activity was running his goalkeeping coach during the long wait over VAR. It eventually overturned the penalty.
And after that, Madrid had so little. Arsenal had more to give, with Martinelli putting the crown on it.
It’s the sort of performance that will only engender belief about putting the grandest trophy of all in the cabinet. A dangerous Paris Saint-Germain come first, but that can wait. This is to be savoured.
This was exactly what Arteta wanted, in every sense.
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