Arsenal advanced to the last four of the Champions League as they outclassed Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
It could have been even better for the Gunners, who went into the break with the game level at 0-0. They could, and should have been in the lead, but having won a soft penalty, Bukayo Saka failed to convert as his innocuous dink was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Madrid had penalty drama of their own after Declan Rice was adjudged to have fouled Kylian Mbappe in the area. That penalty was, however, overturned after almost seven minutes of VAR analysis.
The games’ opening goals came midway through the second half. Saka redeemed himself for his penalty disaster as he ran onto a perfectly weighted through-ball from Mikel Merino – this time his dink over the keeper was appropriate and perfectly executed.
But Madrid was back on level terms almost immediately as William Saliba was caught on the ball by Vinicius Junior as the Gunners looked to play out from the back. The lightning-quick Brazilian slotted home the score, but that was as good as it got for Madrid as the current Champions bowed out of the competition.
A superbly taken late goal from Gabriel Martinelli secured the win as the Brazilian winger raced onto another superb Merino pass following an electric counterattack.
Speaking to TNT after the game, player of the match Declan Rice said: “It is such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club. We had an objective in this competition – we want to win this competition.
“We had so much belief and confidence that we had enough to come here and win the game.
“We had it in our mind, and we have done it in real life. What a night for the club.
“It is massive. I sensed it before I turned up to the club that we were on an upward trajectory.
“In this competition, we have done amazingly well. We fully believe it, and we have full trust in the manager – he is unbelievable.
“Semi-final, it is massive for us, and we want to take tonight in.”
Asked about the Real Madrid penalty that was overturned, he added: “I knew it wasn’t a penalty. I had my arm on him [Kylian Mbappe], but I knew it wasn’t a pen. I am an honest guy.
“He fell to the floor, and I was fully confident it would get overturned.
“In the end, we got the job done, and it is a historic night for the club,” he said.
Arsenal returns to action again on the weekend when they face Ipswich at Portman Road on Sunday.
Arsenal through and through ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vYM3BHR0WT
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 16, 2025
