ARSENAL defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in Spain tonight to advance to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals 5-1 on aggregate.
England international with Nigerian heritage Bukayo Saka was the main actor on the night in an incident-packed match at the Santiago Bernabeu, missing an early penalty before scoring a second-half goal in open play.
With the win, the Gunners progressed to their first Champions League semi-final since 2009, while 2023 finalists Inter Milan drew 2-2 at home to Bayern Munich and qualified 4-3 on aggregate.
Arsenal had a 3-0 lead to defend after their superb victory in the first leg last week — and they got the perfect opportunity to silence the noisy home crowd when they were awarded a 13th-minute penalty.
Saka stepped up but his weak, cheeky effort was saved by the excellent Thibaut Courtois.
However, the England forward made amends for his miss when he got the backbreaking goal with a brilliant chipped finish over Courtois in the 65th minute.
Real Madrid were back level on the night just two minutes later when William Saliba was caught on the ball by Vinicius Junior who scored into an empty net.
But Real Madrid were not able to capitalise on that glimmer of hope and Gabriel Martinelli capped off a glorious night by making it 2-1 in stoppage time with a breakaway goal.
It is just the third time Arsenal have reached the semi-final stage of the Champions League and they will face Paris St-Germain in the last four.
The home crowd, who had built an excellent atmosphere and were hoping to spark a comeback that would be remembered for years to come, thought their side had a way back into the tie shortly after Saka’s spot-kick miss when they were awarded a penalty of their own.
But a lengthy check with the video assistant referee overturned the referee’s decision after Kylian Mbappe had thrown himself to the floor following minimal contact from Declan Rice.
In the other fixture tonight, Inter Milan confirmed their spot in the semi-finals with a thrilling draw against Bayern Munich at San Siro.
The Italian champions led 2-1 from the first leg but their advantage was wiped out by Harry Kane’s strike early in the second half.
However, just nine minutes later the home side were in front on the night and in complete control of the tie.
First, Lautaro Martinez lashed home from six yards as the ball dropped kindly for him from a corner.
Three minutes later, another corner and this time defender Benjamin Pavard powered in a header from Hakan Calhanoglu’s delivery.
Bayern did not give up though, and with 14 minutes remaining they drew level with Eric Dier’s looping back-post header from a tight angle.
Inter Milan will face Barcelona in the semi-finals.
