Arsenal reach maiden Champions League semis since 2009: Key stats
What's the story
Arsenal celebrated a historic achievement in their European campaign as they reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. For the first time since 2009, the Gunners have made it to the last 4. The Gunners booked their place by securing a 2-1 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, resulting in an aggregate scoreline of 5-1 over two legs in the quarters. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal with Real's Vinicius Junior scoring one in between.
Match highlights
Saka's penalty miss and subsequent goal
In a frantic first half which ended goalless, Arsenal's Saka missed a penalty in the 13th minute, whose weak Panenka shot was saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. On the other hand, Real also earned a penalty but it was overruled by VAR. In the 2nd half, Saka redeemed himself with a brilliant chipped goal over Courtois in the 65th minute. This was made possible through an intelligent assist from Mikel Merino, effectively securing Arsenal's place in the semi-finals.
Match recap
Real Madrid's brief resurgence and Arsenal's final goal
Real Madrid briefly revived their hopes when Vinicius capitalized on a mistake by William Saliba to score just two minutes after Saka's goal. However, Martinelli extinguished these hopes with a stoppage-time breakaway goal, again assisted by Merino. This victory marks only the third time Arsenal has reached this stage of the Champions League, setting up a semi-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
Information
Here are the match stats
Real had 18 attempts with 8 shots on goal. Arsenal managed 11 attempts with six shots on target. The hosts had 34 touches in the opposition box compared to 22 from Arsenal. Real had 66% ball possession.
Opta stats
Arsenal make sound records with win over Real
Arsenal have eliminated the Champions League holders from the competition for just the second time, previously doing so against AC Milan in 2007-08. Arsenal have become the first team ever to win each of their first two games against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu in all competitions. This was Arsenal's 3rd UCL qualification after 2005-06 and 2008-09. Arsenal are now unbeaten against Real in four European matches (W3 D1).
Duo
Key numbers of Saka and Martinelli
Saka scored his 10th goal of the season for Arsenal in all competitions from 28 matches. This was his 4th goal of the season in Champions League. Overall, he owns 68 goals in 254 matches for the Gunners. Playing his 216th match for Arsenal, Martinelli has raced to 48 goals. This was his 7th goal in the 2024-25 season.