Could you bet against Arsenal going all the way in the Champions League after last night’s beating of Real Madrid?
Certainly not. It wasn’t just the 5-1 aggregate scoreline that reflected impressive performances across two legs against a side who have won this competition 15 times.
The manner the Gunners were able to navigate the Spanish giants at the Bernabeu ticked a number of boxes as to why the north London club will be truly feared in these final stages, starting with Paris Saint-German in the semi-finals.
With a three-goal advantage from the quarter-final first leg, you would normally deduce that a team is all set to progress to the next round. Particularly Arsenal, who are so well set-up defensively.
Playing at the Bernabeu is a different proposition, however.
The streets outside were jam-packed two hours prior to kick-off with Real Madrid fans awaiting the team bus to arrive.
Arsenal refused to buckle under pressure as they secured a memorable win at the Bernabeu
Gabriel Martinelli wrapped up a deserved win with a stoppage time goal to seal a 5-1 aggregate triumph
Mikel Arteta’s men should now believe they can go all the way in Europe this season
Inside the stadium, the decibels raised gradually while the players warmed up under a closed roof permitted by UEFA, further accelerating this bearpit of an atmosphere.
Even Mikel Arteta afterwards admitted his surprise at how stirring the environment was.
He said: ‘It was my first time as a coach in that dugout and today I realised after three minutes that in this stadium, anything is possible.
‘I mean, they are specialists of creating such a chaos, such a belief, and it’s very difficult to understand really what’s going on in the game and have certain certainty about how we control it. But I think the players showed their own maturity.’
All these factors make the way Arsenal navigated this tie all the more impressive.
‘Remontada’ — Spanish for ‘comeback’ — was the talk around Madrid just hours after their team left the Emirates last Tuesday following a 3-0 defeat.
Jude Bellingham had said: ‘Honestly I’ve heard it about a million times since last week. I’ve seen a million videos online, made by fans, made by you guys. It’s really motivating stuff.’
Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was seen shouting the phrase towards fans after their 1-0 La Liga victory over Alaves on Sunday, and it also featured heavily across the Spanish media in the past week.
Real fans tried to create a hostile atmosphere for Arsenal, but it failed to work
Jude Bellingham had talked up Real’s chances of a comeback prior to Wednesday’s match
Antonio Rudiger was also seen shouting the word ‘remontada’ after Real’s weekend win over Alaves
So much so, Arteta fielded a number of questions on Tuesday about how his team were going to face up to this supposed ‘remontada’.
Instead, the Gunners turned up with an excellent game plan and fortitude to ride the many waves they faced.
Bukayo Saka had a penalty saved after 13 minutes, before Real were awarded a spot-kick of their own soon after, Kylian Mbappe having fell to the ground under minimal contact from Declan Rice.
The VAR intervened to overturn the decision. Yet, despite all this drama, Arsenal were able to focus on the task at hand and not get swept up in the emotion swirling round.
It was the kind of night this team would have capitulated in, in seasons gone by — but not this one. They have a steeliness about them, particularly away from home in Europe which was an issue for them as recently as last season.
After surrendering to Liverpool in the Premier League title race, this result is an antidote to a season marked by injuries and a lack of silverware.
Arsenal must surely now believe they can win this competition in what would be Arteta’s biggest triumph as manager, far superseding his FA Cup scalp in 2020.
It could all have gone wrong for Arsenal when Bukayo Saka saw his penalty saved early on
But the Gunners held their nerve to prove they can deliver on the biggest stage
So next up, PSG. The French side are a much different outfit to the one Arsenal beat 2-0 in October in the league phase – they are not in disarray anymore and have Ousmane Dembele back – but the Gunners have a real shot at the final.
If they continue in the vein in which they dismantled Real Madrid, Arsenal will take some stopping.
