Arsenal through to first Champions League semi-final since 2009, Kane history

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will always remember this game as a career highlight after his side knocked out Real Madrid.
“One of the best nights in my football career,” he said.
“We played against a team with the biggest history. It has been an inspiration for all of us on this competition.
“To be able to win the tie in the manner we have done – I think we have to be very proud of ourselves.
“It is very difficult. After two-to-three minutes you realise anything can happen in this stadium.
“Fortunately, a lot of things went for us. Overall, we did what we had to do to win the game.”
Arteta continued: “The history we have in this competition is so short. The third time in our history of what we have just done and we have to build on that.
“All this experience is going to help us, for sure. We had full belief that we could beat this team and the players did it.”
Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal can win the Champions League after their ‘big statement’ at the Bernabeau tonight.
Saka told TNT Sports: “We showed that we can play in Europe and beat one of the best teams in the world, home and away.
“[I’m] very proud of this team. Tonight was a big statement and I am so happy for everyone.
“We felt comfortable. We are quite good when we get into a low block. It took a lot of running but we managed to do it.”
On his first-half penalty miss, he added: “It can happen. I tried something, but it didn’t work.
“I learn in every moment. Tonight, I am more focused on enjoying the win and then I will review it properly.”
Saka was then asked whether he thinks Arsenal can win the Champions League: “Yes. I like to believe that.”
Arsenal’s Declan Rice has reacted to huge win for the Gunners after picking up Man of the Match yet again.
He told TNT Sports: “It is such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club.
“We had an objective in this competition – we want to win this competition.
“We had so much belief and confidence that we had enough to come here and win the game. We had it in our mind and we have done it in real life. What a night for the club.”
Rice added: “It is massive. I sensed it before I turned up to the club that we were on an upward trajectory.
“In this competition, we have done amazingly well. We fully believe it and we have full trust in the manager – he is unbelievable.
“Semi-final, it is massive for us and we want to take tonight in.”
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo…the list of Real Madrid’s attacking stars could go on and on.
However, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes a former Stoke striker would have made the difference this evening.
Real made 42 crosses this evening and only connected with seven, which is clearly a very, very poor success rate.
And Courtois mentioned the need for big man in the box if you’re sending in crosses, bringing up an ex-teammate of his.
He said post-match: “We crossed a lot, but we didn’t have a player like Joselu.”
The Belgian also seemed to take aim at some of his teammates, adding: “We need to start playing as a team, not as individuals.
“We need to start being honest with ourselves.”
Courtois would then go on to name-drop Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior as his brutal assessment continued.
He said: “We are a team, but sometimes I feel like we play too individually, when they double-team Vini or Kylian, sometimes it works out, but 3, 4 times, it doesn’t.
“If we want to win, we need to be better.”
Arsenal have qualified for a Champions League semi-finals for the third time in their history, after 2005-06 and 2008-09.
Overall, it’s the 30th time an English side have advanced to the semis in the competition, with only Spanish teams (38) having done so more.
On top of that, the Gunners are now unbeaten in their four games against Real Madrid in European competition (W3 D1).
Only one side have ever gone more consecutive games against Los Blancos in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League without losing (7 for Lyon, September 2005-February 2011).
The Champions League semi-finals are confirmed.
In the other tie tonight, Inter Milan drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich and won 4-3 on aggregate.
It means Harry Kane and co. are eliminated.
Bayern join Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid as the teams to be knocked out in the quarters.
Inter will face Barcelona in their tie while, as we know, Arsenal are going to take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal vs PSG
Barcelona vs Inter
It’s a first Champions League semi-final since 2009 for Arsenal as they comfortably beat Real Madrid!
The Gunners went into tonight with a 3-0 lead and they managed to keep Real at bay before stealing a historic win.
They have become the first English team ever to win twice at the Bernabeu in the competition.
Bukayo Saka’s goal seemed to put the tie even more out of reach for Real, but Vinicius Junior reignited some hope.
But as time ticked on, the possibility of a comeback dwindled away and Mikel Arteta’s side defended their lead.
Gabriel Martinelli then completely wrapped things up.
Arsenal will now face PSG in the semi-finals.
IT’S WRAPPED UP!
ARSENAL ARE THROUGH TO THE SEMI-FINALS!
Gabriel Martinelli strikes on the break to win it on the night, making it 2-1 and 5-1 on aggregate.
They’ve knocked out the 15-time European champions.
What a performance!
Oh dear, Thomas Partey.
Antonio Rudiger gets a booking for a foul on Mikel Merino and Partey is not involved at all.
But he ends up coming in to shove Rudiger and he’s handed a yellow card by the referee too.
That card means he’s banned for the semi-final first leg…
Declan Rice is left absolutely raging at his teammate and shouts at him, clearly letting him know what he’s done.
That could end up being costly for Arsenal in the tie against PSG, as Partey is such an important player for them.
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “That’s a ridiculous yellow card.”
Arsenal are on the brink of a Champions League semi-final.
Real Madrid don’t seem to have enough to fight back.
Especially now with Kylian Mbappe coming off injured…
Bukayo Saka has also come off for the Gunners just after Mbappe’s withdrawal, with Leandro Trossard replacing him.
There are just over 10 minutes to go.
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “It’s sensibilty now needed for Arsenal.
“Keep the ball and move it around, no risks at the back.”
We’re into the last 15 minutes at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid still have a sliver of hope after that error from William Saliba, but Arsenal look comfortable.
The Gunners are defending well and have responded confidently since conceding.
With time ticking, surely they’re through now.
It would take a historical turnaround from Real.
LET’S PUT A HOLD ON THAT!
VINICIUS JUNIOR SCORES INSTANTLY AFTER!
William Saliba, what are you doing?!
It’s a huge error at the back as he takes a touch in his own box and gives the ball away to Vini Jr.
The Brazilian steals in and smashes into an empty net!
Game on again!
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “There’s no need to do that.
“He had no idea where Vinicius was, he’s shut him down with lightning effect and put it into the back of the net.”
THAT’S GAME OVER!
ARSENAL ARE HEADING TO THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AS BUKAYO SAKA SCORES!
After missing a dinked penalty in the first half, Saka gets played through on goal and superbly chips this shot in!
Mikel Merino plays the pass to him and the winger is so composed to beat Thibaut Courtois.
That’s 4-0 on aggregate and surely tie over!
Carlo Ancelotti has acted and switched things up.
Rodrygo, David Alaba and Lucas Vazquez are off.
Endrick, Dani Ceballos and Fran Garcia take their places.
Those changes come after an accidental stamp from Antonio Rudiger as he landed on Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Lewis-Skelly is left riding around on the floor and that’s no surprise after taking some studs to his stomach.
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “It was one of those where Rudiger will claim he didn’t know what he was doing.
“It’s a technique we get taught in the defensive school!”
The Arsenal fans can be heard from the heavens in Madrid.
Real have really struggled to get into this second half and the Gunners are starting to frustrate them.
After a long spell of possession, the away fans can be heard chanting ‘Ole, Ole, Ole’ after every pass.
Jude Bellingham is also starting to lose his cool, crunching into tackles and almost having a spat with Declan Rice.
Tensions are rising in the Real camp.
We’re about to enter the last half an hour.
Harry Kane has made some history this evening.
After netting against Inter, the England captain has now scored against 21 different opponents in the UEFA Champions League.
He’s moved ahead of Paul Scholes (20) as the Englishman that has scored against the most teams in the competition.
Sadly for him, Inter Milan have scored two more on the night soon after through Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard.
That means Bayern Munich are now 4-2 down on aggregate.
The second half is underway at the Bernabeu!
Can Arsenal hold on and keep Real Madrid out?
Surely Real can’t come back from 3-0 down now?
We’ll find out over the next 45 minutes or so.
Dani Carvajal is out injured for Real Madrid this evening but he’s still trying to make an impact.
The right-back clashed with Bukayo Saka after the half-time whistle, grabbing the Arsenal winger near the tunnel.
Saka then pushed Carvajal away before they were separated.
The two seemed to argue after exchanging some words on the touchline at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid have failed to register a single shot on target in the first half of a Champions League home match for the first time since March last year.
They’ve had six shots in total but David Raya has not been called into action for any of them.
Arsenal are defending superbly and they’ve forced Real into having shots from distance, with only one coming in the box.
The hosts need at least three goals and there’s now only 45 minutes to find them at the Bernabeu.
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “Saliba has been brilliant with balls in the box and he’s marshalled things very well.”
Newcastle have scored another against Crystal Palace.
Alexander Isak, of course, gets in on the act.
He finishes brilliantly from the edge of the box after Joelinton won the ball back high up from Maxence Lacroix.
It’s 5-0 to the Magpies and they’re in fine form.
They’re heading up to third in the Premier League table.
A crazy half of football comes to an end.
Arsenal will be absolutely delighted with that.
Bukayo Saka missed a penalty to wrap the tie up early, but the Gunners have managed to keep it goalless.
Real Madrid had a penalty overturned after a very long VAR check that sapped some energy from the game.
The hosts have been putting plenty of pressure on but Mikel Arteta’s men have defended really well.
It has left Real’s task of coming back even more impossible now, surely they can’t pull it off?
We’re now into SEVEN minutes of added time.
There has been plenty of stoppages, with the longest by far the check on Real Madrid’s penalty.
Arsenal will hope to hold on and keep this goalless.
They’ve defended so well in this tie so far.
David Raya has been booked after 36 minutes.
He’s already taking a very long time to take his goal kicks and the referee has had enough.
The Arsenal goalkeeper will have to be careful if he wants to waste time later on in the game now.
Real Madrid haven’t had a chance since their penalty was overturned and the atmosphere has been impacted.
They need something to get the excitement going again.
It’s been a busy first half for this man…
We’re just over half an hour in and this has been crazy.
Bukayo Saka has missed a penalty and Real Madrid have just had one overturned after a long VAR check.
Arsenal are still 3-0 up on aggregate and this suits them down to the ground, especially if they can get to halftime.
The game has calmed slightly after all the drama, but there’s sure to be more just around the corner.
VAR OVERTURN THE DECISION!
The referee goes to the screen and changes his mind after being shown a variety of replays.
Arsenal survive and it’s not a penalty!
Declan Rice’s yellow card is also rescinded.
A UEFA statement reads: “The penalty for Real Madrid has been taken away due to a non-foul by Declan Rice”.
Stuart Pearce live on talkSPORT: “You knew there was going to be excitement in this game and wow.
“Arsenal have had two pieces of good fortune.”

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Arsenal through to first Champions League semi-final since 2009, Kane history

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