Bukayo Saka fires Arsenal past Atletico Madrid and into Champions League final
STAR BOY: Arsenal's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their side's first goal. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.
When Bukayo Saka sank to his knees and punched the air in the seconds between scoring the most valuable goal of his life and the half-time whistle, it looked like he knew he had fired Arsenal into the Champions League final for only the second time in their history.
Saka's strike on a famous, frenetic and noisy night in north London was nothing like his customary curler into the far corner, instead a simple prod into the net from close range after an uncharacteristic error from Jan Oblak, one of the world's top goalkeepers.
But it was the first shot on target in a game high on energy, low on attacking quality, one that was always likely to be decided by the tightest of margins.
And so it proved.
Arsenal deserve their flight to Budapest for a place in the final, against either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, who contest the other semi-final.
But it is unlikely the winner of that tie will show the same timidity in attack that Diego Simeone's team displayed.
Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone might claim, with some justification, that they should have been awarded penalties for fouls against them, but German referee Daniel Siebert was reluctant to give spot-kicks, which had been the talking point from the 1-1 draw in Madrid last week.
David Raya had as little to do from open play as Oblak in a game where defenders generally came out on top.
Julian Alvarez, previously prolific in this season's competition, barely had a sniff and was withdrawn in the 66th minute.
There is talk Arsenal – and others – want to bring him back to the Premier League this summer, but the former Manchester City striker did little to forward his credentials.
Mikel Arteta still needs a ruthless number nine, however, as Viktor Gyokeres continued to labour.
The Swede put himself about to great effect, as he is wont to do, but when a golden chance came his way, he fluffed his lines, volleying Piero Hincapie's pinpoint cross horribly over the bar from barely ten yards in the 65th minute.
Instead it was Saka, Arsenal's star boy and captain on the night, who came up with the goods when it mattered.
A chanceless first-half was petering out when Gyokeres was sent through on the right. The Swede turned to chip a cross to the far side, where Leandro Trossard controlled the ball, weaved inside and fired a low shot through a crowd of legs.
Oblak may have seen it late, and though he stopped the shot, he diverted it into the path of Saka, who had darted alertly into the six-yard box.
The finish was simple, the crowd's reaction deafening. All night, Arsenal's fans had been loud and animated, even more than Arteta and Simeone, two of the most hyperactive managers in the business.
Fireworks, music and a huge tifo created a lively atmosphere before kickoff, and the home support barely let up.
Nor did Declan Rice, tireless in midfield and heroic in defence when an early Raya fumble allowed Simeone to shoot, only for Rice to stick out a leg and deflect the ball away.
It was only after half-time that the Spanish side showed any real attacking intent, and could have had two penalties in the opening ten minutes.
William Saliba directed a poor back header into the path of Simeone, who was wrestled to the ground by Gabriel.
Perhaps the fact that the Argentinian managed to flick the ball forward, but wide, put doubt in the referee's mind.
Five minutes later, Griezmann was clipped by Riccardo Calafiori as he followed up his shot that Raya had saved, but again Siebert was unmoved. Arsenal also had grounds to feel hard done by, when Griezmann's push on Trossard went unpunished.
Arsenal had half-chances to score more. Saka, the evening's hero, had looked a villain in the 17th minute when he volleyed tamely into the sidenetting from a Rice corner to the far post. Martin Odegaard went on as a substitute but shot over the bar with the one decent chance he had, while Eberechi Eze and Trossard were also wayward.
But none of it mattered to Arsenal or their ecstatic fans in the final reckoning. They are off to the final of Europe's premier competition for only the second time, since their 2006 defeat by Barcelona in Paris.
The noise on the final whistle was close to deafening, and Arteta and his players danced their way around the pitch as if they had already won the trophy. If they bring the same energy to the final on May 30, who knows what they can do?
Raya 6; White 6, Saliba 6, Gabriel 7, Calafiori 7 (Hincapie 57); Rice 8, Lewis-Skelly 7 (Zubimendi 74); Saka 8 (Madueke 57), Eze 6 (Odegaard 59), Trossard 6 (Martinelli 83); Gyokeres 5.
Oblak 6; Pubill 6, Le Normand 6 (Molina 57), Hancko 6, Ruggeri 6; Simeone 6 (Sorloth 57), Llorente 7, Koke 6, Lookman 5 (Cardoso 57); Griezmann 7 (Alex-Baena 66), Alvarez 4 (Almada 66).
Daniel Siebert (Germany) 7/10.
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