Arsenal have a historic end to the season firmly in their sights after Bukayo Saka fired the London side to its first Champions League final in 20 years with a victory over Atlético Madrid at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Saka was on hand to tap in a rebound in the 45th minute after Leandro Trossard’s shot was saved by Jan Oblak to give Arsenal a 1-0 win over Atlético in the semifinal second leg and a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
It will only be Arsenal’s second final in Europe’s premier competition, having lost the 2006 title match to Barcelona. This time they will face either defending champion Paris Saint-Germain or German title winners Bayern Munich in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30.
PSG won the pulsating first leg of their semifinal 5-4, and the second leg is in Munich on Wednesday.
“It’s an incredible night, we made history again together, and I cannot be happier, prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said at a news conference. “The manner that we received outside the stadium was special and unique.
“The atmosphere, our support has created the energy, the way he managed every ball with us, they made it special and unique, I never felt that in the stadium.
“We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything, the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years and a second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”
The wait goes on for a first Champions League title for Atlético, who reached the final twice under longtime coach Diego Simeone in 2014 and 2016, losing both times to crosstown rivals Real Madrid.
Arsenal had dominated possession in the first half but neither side had tested the opposition goalkeeper in a cagey and physical encounter before the home side pounced through its talismanic winger.
It was Saka’s 13th Champions League goal for Arsenal, putting him in a tie for fourth on the club’s all-time list.
“It’s so beautiful, you love to see what it means to us, what it means to the fans, we’re all so happy,” Saka told Amazon Prime.
It could prove a special season for Arsenal, which is now one game away from their first European Cup title and three games away from a first Premier League crown in 22 years.
The Gunners are guaranteed the domestic league title if they win their remaining three matches, after Manchester City was held to a 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday.
“Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything. Let’s use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but we have the ability and the conviction to do it.”
Saka was just 4 years old when Thierry Henry & Co. succumbed to Barcelona in the Stade de France in 2006. But the Arsenal academy graduate will be handed the chance to right the wrongs of that night in Paris for the club he joined when he was just 8.
Fresh from inspiring Arsenal to a 3-0 win against Fulham on Saturday, Saka was the architect again.
Atlético coach Simeone, clad in his customary all-black attire, grew increasingly agitated on the sidelines as the decisions went against his club and the search for an equalizer proved fruitless.
Each side scored from a penalty in the first leg in Madrid last week and there were more appeals on Tuesday.
Arsenal wanted a penalty when Antoine Griezmann bundled Trossard over in the area in the 35th, but referee Daniel Siebert waved play on.
Atlético had two appeals for a spot kick of their own in the second half, first when Giuliano Simeone went down after a challenge from Gabriel Magalhães, and then when Griezmann was sent to the ground from a tackle by Riccardo Calafiori, but the referee’s whistle had already gone for an Atlético foul.
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres had a great chance to double the lead on a counterattack in the 66th when Piero Hincapié picked him out with a cross, but he side-footed his effort over the bar.
Moments later, Griezmann exited what proved to be his final Champions League game for Atlético ahead of his departure to Orlando City in the summer. With Julián Álvarez, who suffered an injury in the first leg, also being substituted at the same time, Atlético’s best hopes for a goal seemed to have departed.
As expected, this matchup never looked likely to descend into the kind of free-flowing back-and-forth attacking play of the PSG-Bayern game as Arsenal’s defense once again held firm.
As well as keeping a clean sheet at home in all three knockout rounds, Arsenal also conceded a competition-low four goals in winning all eight of their matches in the league phase and will head into the final unbeaten in this season’s competition.
“It’s easier said than done,” Saka said of Arsenal seeing out the win. “This game is a high-pressure game, it means a lot to both sides, and we managed to manage it well and take ourselves to the final, so we’re happy.”
