Arsenal qualify for their first Champions League final in 20 years after narrow 2-1 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid
Bukayo Saka's strike was the difference as the Premier League leaders booked a place in the final in Budapest on May 30
Arsenal have qualified for their first Champions League final in 20 years after a narrow 2-1 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid.
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After a keenly fought tie, Mikel Arteta's side have progressed to European football's biggest match for the first time since their defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final hosted in Paris.
Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the second leg, after a 1-1 draw in Madrid left the Gunners with work to do in north London.
The Premier League leaders will now be dreaming of a European double and their first-ever Champions League crown.
Saka’s winning strike completed a remarkable 24 hours for Arsenal, which has laid the foundations for Mikel Arteta’s side to now complete the greatest season in their 140-year history.
And after impressively navigating their way past Diego Simeone’s side 2-1 on aggregate, they will face the winner of tomorrow's semi-final between holders Paris Saint-Germain and a Harry Kane-inspired Bayern Munich side.
The final will be held in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30.
The Gunners' focus will now turn to the Premier League as they try to win their first top-flight title since 2004.
The title race is back in their hands after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday night, with only West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace standing between the Gunners and a first championship in 22 years.
Mikel Arteta hailed his “incredible” players for “making history” after they secured their place in Budapest.
Arsenal have never won Europe’s grandest tournament, and Arteta said: “It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club.
“The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium.
“We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years, and the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”
Arsenal will arrive for the showpiece as the sole unbeaten team in this season’s competition following a remarkable record of 11 wins and three draws. Indeed, their streak of 14 matches without defeat is a new Champions League record for the north London club.
But Arteta’s side will next take on West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, prior to a home match against Burnley and an away clash at Crystal Palace. Three wins will be enough for Arsenal to secure their first Premier League title in 22 years before they head to Hungary.
And Arteta added: “It’s great. 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 that we have the ability and the conviction to do it.
“I’m really going to enjoy it tonight, everybody’s enjoying this moment now. But tomorrow we have to start to prepare for Sunday. We have an incredible game against West Ham, a really tough one, and we’re going to have four days to do that. Let’s enjoy the moment but tomorrow let’s start to live in the present.”
Atleti head coach Simeone appeared to shove Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta on the touchline in the concluding moments of the game. However, he was magnanimous in defeat.
Simeone said: “If we got knocked out it is because our opponents deserved to get through. I don’t want to make excuses.
“Mikel Arteta has done an incredible job at Arsenal. He has been trying to get to this point for a long time, to win the Premier League and the Champions League.
“They have incredible financial power, and that is linked to what they are doing, but I am pleased for them because they deserve it.”