Arsenal has booked their place for the first time in 16 years in the semi-final of the Champions League with a stunning victory against Real Madrid and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has given his opinion
Mikel Arteta was overjoyed after the stunning victory of Arsenal against Real Madrid. The Gunners sealed their place in the semi -final of the Champions League in style in the Santiago Bernabeu.
Arsenal was 3-0 higher after the first legs in North London and provided a dramatic 2-1 success in Spain to win 5-1. Bukayo Saka gave his side the lead when he recovered from a penalty miss in the first half.
Vinicius JR put things on the evening before Gabriel Martinelli scored late. And after the game, Arteta made clear his feelings about Gunners' victory: “One of the best nights in my football career.”
He said TNT Sports: “We played against a team with the greatest history. It has been an inspiration for all of us in this competition. To be able to win the draw in the way we have done-I think we should be very proud of ourselves. It is very difficult.
“Fortunately, many things went for us. In general we did what we had to do to win the game. The history we have in this competition is so short.
“The third time in our history of what we have just done and we have to build on it. All this experience will certainly help us. We were a lot convinced that we could beat this team and the players did it.”
And while Arteta was full of praise for his entire team, he saved special comments for midfielder Declan Rice after he was named Man-of-the-Match. The Arsenal boss added: “Tonight he was huge. He turned the game around. He was huge today. He made a difference.”
The North London side has now set up a semi-final draw with French giant Paris Saint-Germain after their dramatic victory against Aston Villa. And Arteta is not in the size of the task that is the size of the task for his side, because they strive to reach the final.
He said: “I watched the game last night and it was a crazy game. I know the manager [Luis Enrique] Really good, but let's enjoy tonight. They are now a different team and they currently have an incredible run. “