Arsenal have booked their place in the Champions League final, after a 20-year wait.
Here’s what the pundits had to say…
On BBC Radio 5 Live, former Arsenal defender Matt Upson said: “It’s just appropriate for a game like this where neither team was going to give an inch. Talk about building something over the seasons, they’re going one step further every time. They want the Premier League, but they also want this so badly. What an evening for the fans.
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“I felt they did manage it well. It did look like Arsenal were in control, you don’t want to tempt fate, but Atletico looked a little disjointed. I have to believe they are at the elite table and they can do it. This group, they can definitely do it.”
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Former Premier League goalkeeper Rob Green added: “It was routine, wasn’t it? And I mean that as a compliment. Arsenal made Atletico look ordinary. It wasn’t the most gracious goal from [Bukayo] Saka, but nobody cares. Tonight it was a case of getting it done, and they did.”
On Amazon Prime, former England international Alan Shearer said: “It wasn’t a vintage Arsenal performance, but it didn’t have to be, it had to be a performance to get them through and that’s exactly what they delivered. They had to fight, scrap and battle for every single ball and when they had the chance to go 1-0 they took it. They put their bodies on the line and that was enough to get them through to Budapest.”
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Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott said: “Incredible scenes here. I’ve never seen the Emirates quite like it – that connection with the fans we talk about. Some people here weren’t even born when they last got to the final, and it’s one of those now ‘can they go that one step further?’ Maybe they are the team that can do it this year.”
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Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge said: “The drive and tenacity of the players [is what impressed most]. [Myles] Lewis-Skelly was brilliant, controlling pace and the play. But [Viktor] Gyokeres was the best player tonight for me. He took so much pressure off the defenders, when you launch it up top, thinking can it stick, can you hold it up for us? He did it all for them. Those are the performances that define top players.”
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