As had been the case for Arsenal in the first leg, the breakthrough came just before half-time and Viktor Gökeres was involved once again. The Swede fired a powerful shot behind the Atlético defense to meet Leandro Trossard’s cross, but his shot was deflected into the path of Saka by goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Saka was visibly unhappy at being removed from the post-match interview, saying: “You’re taking me away from the celebrations. It’s very beautiful.” But you’re right, Saka answered with a smile on his face and stuck around to finish his interview with Clark.
“Yes, I’m very happy. Easier said than done. This was a high-pressure game. It meant a lot to both sides. We coped well and were able to reach the final. It started before the game, when the coach arrived. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Sometimes it bounces back, sometimes it doesn’t. But you have to be there and I was there – we achieved the goal. There’s no way you can come to this position without feeling pressure. There’s no way you can’t expect people to talk about you and criticize you. That’s why we have to stop it. It’s a beautiful story and I hope it ends well in Budapest.”
Saka was just five years old when Arsenal last appeared in the Champions League final in 2006. The superstar has been named in Arteta’s first starting XI as Gunners manager and is sure to be crucial to the north Londoners’ hopes of being crowned European champions.
Declan Rice also spoke to Amazon Prime experts after the celebrations inside the Emirates Stadium had died down. “It’s chaos (in the dressing room). I don’t think anyone should underestimate what we’ve done in this competition so far. I think we have a right to celebrate the moment. It’s the most prestigious competition in club football. We’re just trying to absorb it all.”
“We went into the game knowing what was at stake. If you can’t stand up for that, you can’t stand up for any game of football. When we led 1-0, we knew we were going to win. We felt something special was building.”
