Everything that Arsenal had poured into a hugely impressive Champions League campaign came down to this. It was not about more plaudits, more pride. It was purely about taking the next step, moving to the verge of history.
On an increasingly frenzied night, when the ghosts of previous near misses under Mikel Arteta provided a part of the story, they made surely the boldest advance so far under their manager. It is the prospect of what comes next in the final against Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich that tantalises. It was a night when Arteta struggled to keep a lid on his emotions. Ditto his Atlético Madrid counterpart, Diego Simeone. But it only made the final whistle sound more beautiful for everybody with Arsenal in their hearts.
Suffering is unavoidable at junctures like these and Arsenal hearts skipped beats at various points of the second half, especially when the Atlético substitute, Alexander Sørloth swung at an inviting low cross on 86 minutes and missed.
Arsenal deserved to progress. They were the better team in the first half and they did enough after the interval, two certainties seeing them through. Their bolted door defence. And Bukayo Saka. It was the winger who scored the decisive goal at the end of the first half – a close-range finish after the Atlético goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, coughed up a Leandro Trossard shot. Arsenal are into only their second final; the first since 2006. They will believe in themselves to spring the upset in Budapest on 30 May.
The occasion had been framed from an Arsenal point of view by the sense of possibility, partly because of what happened on Monday night at Everton where Manchester City could only draw. Arsenal can almost touch the Premier League title. This was something else, a shot at the ultimate club final and the idea had been to harness the good vibes from Saturday’s win here over Fulham, which had been thumping and unusually stress-free.
End-of-season Fulham or Simeone’s Atlético in a showpiece semi-final? Nobody in Arsenal red had anticipated anything other than a battle royale and the club’s fans tried to make it hostile for the visitors. Atlético were bothered by fireworks on Monday night above their hotel in Shoreditch. The Arsenal supporters turned out in force to greet the team buses, red flares lighting the scene, although it was not exactly intimidating. The pre-match tifo was nicely presented. North London forever was belted out.
Arteta went for it with his starting XI. The attack-minded Riccardo Calafiori at left-back. Myles Lewis-Skelly in a thrusting central midfield role. Arteta asked Declan Rice to sit deeper. Calafiori pushed up and inside. So did Ben White from right-back. Simeone set up with his two banks of four. His team have been porous too often this season; rather un-Simeone-like. He demanded that they were compact here.
Atlético had a couple of flickers up the right in the early running. With Antoine Griezmann pulling wide, they wondered whether they could get at Calafiori. Giuliano Simeone crossed low for Julián Alvarez, who shot wide under pressure. Then, when Griezmann pulled back, the ball broke for Simeone Jr and it needed a block tackle from Rice to close him down.
It was attritional. Of course, it was. The tension pulsed. Arsenal played on the front foot for most of the opening 45 minutes, probing for gaps. Three times they got in behind but Atlético either cleared or locked up the middle. Everything changed when Arsenal did so for a fourth occasion in the 44th minute.
It was a pass up the inside right from William Saliba and Viktor Gyökeres was in, with Jan Oblak racing from his line, then thinking better and retreating. Gyökeres crossed and when it went all the way through for Trossard on the far side, Atlético fought to regain their shape. Trossard jinked inside and unloaded and Oblak might have seen it late through a crowd. His parry was weak and Saka was the sharpest to the rebound. Arsenal had one foot in the final.
The roles were reversed at the start of the second half; Atlético pushing, Arsenal sitting in, looking to punch on the counter. Dressed in trademark black, Simeone prowled his technical area, living every moment and he howled for a penalty when his son, Giuliano, fastened onto a poor back header by Saliba and went around David Raya, his first touch true. Was he nudged by the chasing Gabriel Magalhães, who did not appear to get any of the ball as he challenged? Simeone swiped wide. It was a let-off for Arsenal.
Gyökeres had a shot blocked after a Rice-led break and Atlético went close at the other end when Griezmann worked Raya. Marc Pubill was ruled to have fouled Gabriel as he chased the rebound which was just as well for Arsenal because in the next action, Calafiori caught Griezmann.
Arsenal looked for the knockout blow as the game became stretched and Gyökeres nearly landed it after a cross from the substitute, Piero Hincapié. Gyökeres shot first time in front of goal but lifted it high.
Pubill would be fortunate to escape a red card for a last-man foul on Gyökeres in the 81st minute but all that mattered to Arsenal was keeping Atlético out. After Sørloth blew his chance, Atlético would not get another. Arteta led the wildest celebrations when it was all over. The party looked set to rage long into the night.
