Arsenal cruised into the Champions League semi-final with an efficient and professional performance in Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti questioned Arsenal’s experience before the second leg in the Bernabeu but Mikel Arteta’s men answered all of those questions running out 2-1 winners on the night.
Arsenal fans were shocked by Bukayo Saka as the Gunners star missed an early penalty with a ‘Panenka’ style finish but soon made up for the mistake by opening the scoring midway through the second half.
A mistake from William Saliba allowed Vinicius Jr to get Real Madrid on level terms just two minutes later but Arsenal stayed resolute before Gabriel Martinelli raced away for the winner in stoppage time. A result to send shockwaves around Europe.
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French media verdict on Arsenal performance ahead of PSG clash
Arsenal will now face PSG in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009 when they were knocked out by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side.
A 5-1 demolition of the reigning champions should give the Gunners great confidence going into that tie and the French media have been impressed with Arsenal’s performance in the Bernabeu.
L’Equipe described Arsenal’s display as ‘less spectacular’ than the first leg in London but wrote: “Attentive in the duels and sharp in their attacking situations, the Gunners increased on Wednesday (2-1) the 3-goal lead acquired in the first leg against the Madrileños, without ever giving the impression of having doubted their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.”
Meanwhile, FootMercato singled out Mikel Merino for high praise, they wrote: “Mikel Merino’s activity in this match was titanic. Constantly pressing, he caused the penalty for Arsenal at the very beginning of the match, being hooked by Asencio (11′).
“His movements have done a lot of damage to the Real Madrid defence, creating a lot of risky line-ups of Asencio or Rudiger with his positioning. He was finally rewarded for his impressive activity with a very inspired assist for Bukayo Saka (65′).”
Maxifoot described the Gunners as “Better collectively and perfectly oiled,” whilst French outlet FootBoom had a different man of the match in Declan Rice.
FootBoom wrote: “The stats speak for themselves: 89 minutes on the field, a remarkable passing accuracy of 97% and an impressive 11.9 kilometres of distance covered, with a top speed of 32.6 kilometres per hour.”
Gabriel Martinelli winner shows Arsenal blueprint for PSG clash
The winner on the night from Martinelli was a perfect example of how the Gunners should set up in the semi-final clash with PSG.
Luis Enrique’s side will want to dominate the ball and press Arsenal high up the pitch in order to give the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola the best chance of turning the ball over in dangerous areas.
However, as with the winner in the Bernabeu, if Arteta’s side can continue to keep their defensive shape and frustrate PSG, then upon winning the ball they can hurt the French side in transition.
Merino’s pass through the lines set Martinelli away and with the Brazilian’s pace, no defence is going to be able to stop him when in full flight.
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