Champions League: Arsenal see off Real Madrid to book semi-final spot

MADRID: Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled, the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.

Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.

"We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win," Declan Rice, who netted two stunning free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports.

"It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club... we want to win this competition."

Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence.

The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.

"It’s a difficult moment... it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked," Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.

"We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job."

Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.

Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.

Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.

Saka penalty saved

Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.

It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him.

However, after a lengthy VAR review, Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.

The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.

For all of Madrid’s bluster, the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half.

Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.

The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.

Four goals ahead in the tie, Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.

Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.

Madrid’s increasingly slim hopes were dashed when Mbappe limped off with an ankle problem with 15 minutes remaining, and Martinelli made sure with a cool finish after Merino set him up.