Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid: Bukayo Saka’s goal gives the Gunners a 2-1 aggregate win over their Spanish opponents and a place in the Champions League final.
Bukayo Saka scores Arsenal’s first goal before half-time (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years with a controlled victory over Atletico Madrid. The Gunners went into the home match tied on the same score as last week’s game against Madrid, and worked efficiently to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games this season.
Arsenal took the lead after a shaky first half, following the precedent of the first leg. Jan Oblak could only parry Leandro Trossard’s shot and Bukayo Saka devoured the rebound. These proved to be the only two shots on target by the home team all night.
Nevertheless, it should have been 2-0 when Piero Hincapie sent in a perfect cross to Victor Gokeres, but the Arsenal striker side-footed his shot over the bar. In the end, it didn’t matter that Atleti lacked firepower, especially after the substitutions of Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.
Declan Rice had to be alert to slip in and tackle Giuliano Simeone after David Raya forced a low cross into the danger zone early on, but Griezmann stung Raya’s palm in the second half.
In reality, however, Raya’s goal was rarely seriously threatened, with substitute Alexander Sorloth scoring the best opener in the closing stages. Here are some of the talking points when the Premier League leaders face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final to be held in Budapest on May 30th.
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1. Lewis Skelly takes chances
Lewis Skelly was the biggest surprise when Mikel Arteta’s team sheet was released. The youngster was rewarded for his performance in central midfield against Fulham at the weekend, starting again in place of Martin Zvimendi, a move that Thierry Henry was happy with.
“Lewis-Skelly has shown that it could be a new position for him next season,” Henry purred on Monday, and it looks like Arteta may agree. His confidence was evident from the off as he slotted in alongside Rice and moved freely in a flowing system with Riccardo Calafioli moving in from left-back.
Lewis-Skelly is unlikely to have known that England manager Thomas Tuchel was at home to watch the game. With the left-back in front of him, it seemed as if his chances of making it to the World Cup had diminished, but Tuchel’s words in November will remain in his memory. “The door is always open to players who perform regularly and at a high level.” The applause he received as he left the pitch in the second half was huge.
Thomas Tuchel had plenty of English players to keep an eye on (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
2. Arsenal unlocks the door
The Gunners knew what they would be up against. It was an extremely well-organised, tenacious and determined Atleti team. They knew they had to be patient to pick the lock, but after a grueling and tense first 44 minutes, the moment arrived.
Gökeres ran behind the defense and lured Oblak out of goal, but his deflected cross hit Trossard at the back post. The Belgian’s shot deflected slightly and Oblak could only push it past Saka, who did not miss the chance to rebound and took advantage of his poacher’s good instincts.
Bukayo Saka showed a poacher’s instinct for scoring (Image: Alex Pantling/UEFA via Getty Images)
3. Avoid VAR
As usual, there were many calls for the video assistant referee to check. And this time, VAR decided not to send the referee to the pitchside monitor.
In the first half, Trossard went over under pressure from Griezmann but could do nothing. In the second half, Atleti called for a penalty, but the challenge was deemed okay as Gabriel won the ball to Simeone, but Calafiori caught Griezmann in the box and was lucky that the whistle had already sounded for a foul on Gabriel.
Referee Daniel Siebert was not sent to the screen by VAR (Image: Vince Mignott/Getty Images)
4. Good and bad points of Gokeres
There will continue to be debate about whether Gokeres is good enough to lead Arsenal’s front line, but tonight it was clear what he is good at. The Swedish striker missed a great chance to make it 2-0 from Hincapie’s pinpoint cross, giving further impetus to critics who say he only scores against weaker opponents.
But there is no doubt that Arteta will be delighted with the centre-forward’s all-round contribution. His physicality is exactly what we need against a physical Atlético team. His run in behind stretched the defense and led to Saka’s goal. The former Sporting Lisbon player is still far from finished, as he demonstrated with his shot over the bar from the edge of the box, but he offers many useful attributes to the team, especially if Kai Havertz is unavailable (again).
Victor Gokeres fought hard for his team (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
5. A clash of styles awaits.
It would have been little different from last week’s crazy and close first leg between PSG and Bayern. Arsenal and Atleti play completely different brands of football, so the final is always a clash of styles. And it will be Arsenal who will look to practice their brand of football against freer opponents in Hungary on May 30th.
The team that wins Wednesday’s second leg, in which PSG holds a 5-4 advantage, will advance to the final as favorites. But it would be foolhardy to leave out Arsenal, who, while not surprising the neutrals, have plenty of organization, grit and sheer force of will.
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