Arsenal clashed with Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Bernabeu.
Mikel Arteta named an unchanged side from the first leg at the Emirates Stadium as free kick hero Declan Rice continued in midfield alongside Thomas Partey, who shrugged off a knock to start the game.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the early exchanges after Mikel Merino was held from a corner but Bukayo Saka’s attempted ‘Panenka’ was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
The hosts then thought they had a penalty of their own when Rice was adjudged to have held Kylian Mbappe but it was over turned after a lengthy VAR review.
Saka redeemed himself with a brilliantly taken finish following Merino’s through ball before a mistake from William Saliba allowed Vinicius Jr to steal in and equalise.
The Gunners were able to pinch the win on the night as Gabriel Martinelli slotted home in stoppage time with a devastating counter attack to cap a wonderful night for the football club.
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Arsenal player ratings vs Real Madrid
The Gunners knew that the cauldron of the Bernabeu would be a test but they stood up to the challenge and progressed into the semi-final, here’s how the Arsenal players rated in the clash with Real Madrid.
David Raya- 7
Commanding from set pieces and crosses all evening and brought a calmness to the defenders in front of him.
Jurrien Timber- 9
Outstanding display up against one of the world’s best wingers. Timber’s ability to stand up and defend one v one may be the best around.
William Saliba- 8
Colossal performance on the whole from Saliba and showed why many believe he will become the best centre back in world football. One lapse in concentration for the Madrid goal didn’t prove costly in the end.
Jakub Kiwior- 9
Dominant in the air and showed incredible composure in possession as he set the Gunners away on a number of counter attacks under pressure.
Myles Lewis-Skelly- 8
Defended in a real disciplined manner up against the trickery of Rodrygo, stayed on his feet and tucked in well alongside his team mates.
Thomas Partey- 8
Controlled the game in front of the back four and broke up play on countless occasions to really frustrate the Real Madrid offensive patterns. Silly late booking means he now misses the semi-final first leg with PSG.
Declan Rice- 10
Stand out player on the pitch once again by a country mile. The energy, tenacity and composure of Rice was phenomenal and he really is in the form of his life.
Martin Odegaard- 5
Worked hard and was disciplined with his press but on the ball Odegaard was well below his usual standards and looked weak in possession at times.
Bukayo Saka- 8
Had one of the worst moments in his magnificent Arsenal career with the penalty miss but regained composure to cause Madrid all sorts of problems on the counter attack.
Took his goal with a sublime dink over Courtois to make amends for his horror penalty miss.
Gabriel Martinelli- 8
His discipline and responsibility in helping out Lewis-Skelly was admirable and he put in a real team performance. Took his winning goal majestically and thoroughly deserved.
Mikel Merino- 8
At times it was hard to know where Merino was operating as he was back helping out defensively before using his strength to hold the ball up, incredible effort from the Spaniard.
Beautifully weighted pass to play in Saka for the Arsenal opener and followed it up with another for Martinelli.
Substitutes
Leandro Trossard – 6
Replaced Saka with 15 minutes to go and showed some nice glimpses on the ball whilst being responsible defensively.
Ben White- N/A
Oleksandr Zinchenko- N/A
Kieran Tierney- N/A
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