Arsenal on cusp of history after beating Atletico Madrid to reach Champions League final

LONDON – Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to use the “energy and belief” generated by reaching the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as fuel to complete a historic double.

The Gunners boss was a blur of energy as he embarked on a jubilant lap of honour with his players, after the 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the semi-final, second leg at the Emirates Stadium on May 5.

Bukayo Saka’s goal in the first half sealed a 2-1 aggregate victory that sent Arsenal back into the Champions League final for only the second time, after their previous appearance in 2006 ended in defeat by Barcelona.

They are now four games from immortality, with three wins from their remaining English Premier League matches against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace guaranteeing a first English title since 2004.

After the title fight with Manchester City is decided, Arteta’s side will travel to Budapest to face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich on May 30, as they chase a maiden Champions League crown.

Whoever they face in Hungary will encounter an Arsenal team riding a tidal wave of emotion, after the outpouring of joy from Arteta, his players and 60,000 fans on May 5.

Arteta was ecstatic during the wild post-match celebrations and, on the cusp of history, he challenged his players to use the feeling to carry them to the finish line in both competitions.

“It’s great. Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything,” he said. “Let’s use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but that we have the ability and the conviction to do it.

“Everybody is enjoying this moment now. But the high is not too high and the low is not too low. My job is to be quite stable.

“We have an incredible game against West Ham, a really tough one, and we’re going to have four days to do that.”

Over two decades have passed since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” reigned supreme with their unbeaten title-winning campaign in 2004.

Wenger gradually lost his way after losing to Barca in the Champions League final, but Arteta finally appears to have recaptured the spirit of that iconic team.

The Spaniard has laboured for over six years to create the perfect alchemy between players and fans, a bond that has come dangerously close to breaking during a trophy drought dating back to the 2020 FA Cup victory.

He has hit on the perfect ingredients this season, leaving Arsenal on the brink of erasing the pain of three successive runners-up finishes in the Premier League.

“It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club,” Arteta added.

“The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium. We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line.”

Winning the Champions League and Premier League in a single season would be greatest campaign in the club’s 140-year history.

Arteta is happy to give the credit to his players, admitting he could never have imagined being so close to such glory when he arrived to start his first managerial job in 2019.

“They are the ones that have to make these kind of performances,” he said. “I didn’t really imagine it because we weren’t in Europe at the beginning. This is a big achievement.

“We have been building little by little. We believed in what we wanted to do. Now we have to maintain it.”

Atletico coach Diego Simeone, meanwhile, was a model of composure later as he reflected on defeat.

“I feel calm, I feel peace, I think the team gave absolutely everything,” he said. “(Arsenal) took their big chance in the first half and they deserved it.

“In the first leg we could have won it but we were not clinical enough. Mikel Arteta has done an incredible job at Arsenal... I’m really pleased for them, they deserve it.” AFP, REUTERS