Bukayo Saka wrote his name into Arsenal folklore on 5 May, scoring the only goal of the game to send the Gunners into the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years. A packed and rapturous Emirates Stadium erupted as Saka’s composed finish in the 44th minute sealed a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid, enough for a 2-1 aggregate victory after last week’s 1-1 draw in Madrid.
Arsenal will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on 30 May. Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal at the semi-final stage last season, lead 5-4 ahead of their second leg in Munich on Wednesday.
It is 20 years since Arsenal last stood on a Champions League final stage, losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their only previous appearance in 2006. The wait has been long, the near-misses painful, and the jibes about mental fragility and serial underachievement loud. On Tuesday night, all of that began to feel like a distant memory.
Thousands of supporters had massed outside the Emirates before kick-off, creating a wall of colour with flares and flags that captured the magnitude of what was at stake. Inside, the atmosphere was electric from the first whistle, a vociferous display of collective desperation to finally make history.
Arteta had steadied the ship with Saturday’s 3-0 rout of Fulham after a difficult run of four defeats in six games had revived painful questions about the club’s ability to handle pressure. This was a more controlled, less spectacular performance, but nobody inside the Emirates cared about aesthetics. They cared about the result, and the result was everything they had hoped for.
Arsenal were given a nervous opening by Atletico, with Julian Alvarez shooting just wide and Giuliano Simeone’s close-range effort deflecting past the post in the early exchanges. But the Gunners settled and gradually imposed themselves, and the decisive moment came just before half-time.
Viktor Gyokeres made a clever run in behind the Atletico defence to unsettle their backline and delivered a cross into the area that reached Leandro Trossard. The Belgian wriggled into just enough space to drive a low shot at Jan Oblak, whose weak push out fell perfectly for Saka. The homegrown symbol of the Arteta era reacted sharply to slot home from four yards, and the Emirates erupted. Arteta punched the air in jubilation on the touchline as the noise inside the ground became something close to deafening.
Atletico pushed hard in the second half in search of the away goal that would have changed everything. Gabriel Magalhaes produced a last-ditch tackle on Simeone to avert what looked a certain goal, and David Raya was called upon to repel Antoine Griezmann’s fierce strike. Arsenal held firm, defended with conviction and saw the tie out without significant alarm.
It is shaping up to be the greatest season in Arsenal’s history. They lead the Premier League by five points with three games remaining and will be crowned champions if they beat West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace. A title and a Champions League final in the same season would surpass even the achievements of Arsene Wenger’s unbeaten Invincibles side, who won the club’s last English title in 2004.
Arteta revealed recently that he had visualised Arsenal winning the Champions League even in the difficult early days of his reign. He is now one match away from turning that vision into reality, with Saka, the boy from Ealing who came through the academy and grew into a generational talent, leading the way.
Arsenal have never won the Champions League. Their two major European trophies came in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
