ARSENAL’S heroes dumped the Kings of Europe out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion.
The Declan Rice-inspired Gunners led 3-0 after the first leg at the Emirates.
And Mikel Arteta knew if they could avoid a thumping defeat in a raucous Bernabeu, they would book a semi-final date with PSG.
Two huge VAR penalty decisions went Arsenal’s way in the first half.
The first saw Raul Asencio penalised for dragging Mikel Merino down off the ball at a corner – but Bukayo Saka dinked his spot kick and it was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois.
At the other end, Declan Rice tugged down Kylian Mbappe – but it was overturned after a five-minute VAR check.
Saka made amends by chipping over Courtois to round off a superb Arsenal move and make it 4-0 on aggregate on 65 minutes.
Two minutes later, Vinicius Junior pounced on a dawdling William Saliba to fire into an empty net and give Real a glimmer of hope.
But not only did Arsenal hold on, Gabriel Martinelli scored on the counter-attack in injury time to round off a famous 5-1 aggregate win over the reigning champions.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated Arteta’s men from inside the Bernabeu…
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
DAVID RAYA – 7/10
It is very rare that a keeper comes to the Bernabeu and his gloves are barely tested, but David Raya had that luxury in the first half with an incredible defensive unit ahead of him.
Maybe that is why he felt he needed to get involved in the game by picking up a needless 36th-minute yellow card for time-wasting.
And in the 67th minute, he put Saliba in a world of pain with a pass the Frenchman did not want that led to Vinicius Jr nipping in and tapping into an empty net.
MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 8
It is understandable that at 18 years old, his emotions have got the better of him at times in his breakthrough season for Arsenal, whether that be red cards or riling up opposition players and fans.
The opening 45 minutes showed how mature he can be when the situation demands it.
He was cool, calm and collected and often non-nonsense in his approach, chucking in a few trademark mazy runs from deep as well.
9
WILLIAM SALIBA – 8
Just how important is this man to Arsenal and their chances of winning the Champions League? The answer: very.
Block after block, header after header, a performance beyond his years and proof that he is currently one of the best centre-backs on the planet.
Arsenal fans will just be hoping that suitors Madrid do not come calling this summer after showcasing such a dominant display on their home patch.
This was all written before he got robbed of the ball blind by Vinicius Jr. The pass was unforgiving but he should have known the Brazilian was lurking.
A blip in an otherwise flawless evening.
JAKUB KIWIOR – 8
He has his doubters, but surely not after this one.
To be thrown in cold to replace the man-mountain that is Gabriel to face the reigning European champions is as daunting as it gets, and many feared the worst.
Fear not. The Pole has been pretty much faultless over the past few games, and importantly in both legs of this titanic clash.
He has been linked with a move away this summer after failing to disrupt the partnership of Saliba and Gabriel. Perhaps Arteta will be thinking twice.
9
JURRIEN TIMBER – 8
For such a reliable figure in this Arsenal backline, it was a nervy start, losing the ball high up to Kylian Mbappe, who then chested in for a goal after two minutes only for the offside flag to come to the rescue.
Yet after that, the Dutchman went about his business with little fuss but a lot of quality and determination.
Is this a sign that Ben White will struggle to get back into the team from now on?
DECLAN RICE – 9
There were no thrills or spills or top-bin worldies, but Rice was arguably even better than he was in the first leg.
The engine on this man is second to none, covering every patch of supreme grass at the Bernabeu and giving Jude Bellingham a midfield masterclass on the biggest of stages in both attack and defence.
A captain and leader in everything but the armband, this was a night where Rice emerged not just as a good player, but a world-class player.
9
THOMAS PARTEY – 8
A quiet night for the towering Ghanaian with some nice little touches and interceptions, knowing he would not be in the spotlight next to the main man Rice.
Instead, he did the dirty work and the boring stuff incredibly well. Gone are those inconsistent, injury-ravaged days it seems.
With his contract up in the summer, is that pen getting closer to the dotted line?
But needlessly got himself suspended from first leg of the PSG semi-final by getting involved in a row with Antonio Rudiger and seeing yellow, much to Rice’s annoyance.
9
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 6
Back at his old stomping ground, he would have wanted to prove a point.
However, on the ball he was sloppy, struggling to find any rhythm – or any team-mates for that matter.
But when all else fails, Odegaard defaults to his factory settings of running hard, pressing like a crazed lunatic and setting a fine example for the rest of the group.
If this is him not at his best, just imagine what will happen when he switches into gear.
9
BUKAYO SAKA – 8
An eventful night to say the least. Madrid clearly had a game plan of knocking ten lumps out of the England winger every time he got the ball, wiped out by David Alaba early doors.
He responded emphatically with two shots cutting inside, but then came THE penalty.
Had he been practising them in training? Was it a spur-of-the-moment thing?
One thing is for sure: he will think twice before trying a Panenka again in such a big game.
But when one dink doesn’t work, you try again, rewarded with a goal after a cute finish over Thibaut Courtois.
The guts on this guy – in the spitting cauldron of the Bernabeu – is remarkable.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 8
One decent effort from a tight angle, lots of running up and down on the right to help protect Timber, but not a lot else… that was until he capped off the night with an epic run and finish in the dying moments.
But there does remain a question mark over whether the Brazilian has what it takes to light up big nights against Europe’s best like his pal Saka consistently does with a swagger and smile.
9
MIKEL MERINO – 8
Kept Rudiger busy and occupied, winning several aerial duels and helping his side up the pitch after soaking up pressure.
Merino did not have Courtois worried throughout the entire 90 minutes, but stepped up with a vital assist for Saka, and then another for Martinelli, both of those passes timed to perfection.
Is there any point in going back into midfield now?
When you do it over two legs against the world’s best – including scoring in the first leg – with barely a scratch on you, surely that’s his test passed?
SUBS
LEANDRO TROSSARD (SAKA, 77) – 6
Hard to come on for Saka and try and replicate what he does, but stretched Madrid when they were getting desperate.
Such a useful man to be able to bring on.
KIERAN TIERNEY (MARTINELLI, 90) – N/A
BEN WHITE (TIMBER, 90) – N/A
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO (RICE, 90) – N/A
9
