London, May 7:
The last time Arsenal played in the Champions League final, Bukayo Saka was still four years away from joining the club’s academy.
Now Saka, the winger who first signed for Arsenal at age 8, has put his club back onto the biggest stage.
Saka scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday to put Arsenal into its first Champions League final since 2006 — and only its second ever.
No wonder he was reluctant to stop celebrating with the crowd and his teammates after the final whistle and do a TV interview on the field instead.
“You’re taking me away from the celebrations, man,” Saka told Amazon Prime with a laugh. “It is so beautiful. You see what it means to us and what it means to the fans. We’re so happy.”
The 24-year-old Saka was on hand to slot in the rebound after Leandro Trossard’s shot was saved by Jan Oblak in the 45th minute to put Arsenal up 2-1 on aggregate in the second leg of their semifinal.
The Gunners’ stingy defence did the rest.
Arsenal has now kept a clean sheet at home in all three knockout rounds after conceding a competition-low four goals in winning all eight of its matches in the league phase.
It will be Arsenal’s second final in Europe’s premier competition, having lost the 2006 title match to Barcelona. This time it will face either defending champion Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30. PSG won the pulsating first leg of their semifinal 5-4, and the second leg is in Munich on Wednesday.
It could prove a special season for the London cub, which is now one game away from its first European Cup title and three games away from a first Premier League crown in 22 years.
The Gunners are guaranteed the domestic league title if they win their remaining three matches, after closest rival Manchester City was held to a 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday.
“Now we are in the final of the Champions League and we’re fighting for the Premier League,” Saka said. “It’s a beautiful a story and I hope it ends well in Budapest.”
Fellow academy product Myles Lewis-Skelly hadn’t been born yet when Arsenal was last in the final, but the 19-year-old again looked assured in midfield after being handed a surprise start by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Atletico had a chance to equalise in the 51st when Giuliano Simeone chased down a poor backward header from William Saliba to round goalkeeper David Raya, but centre back Gabriel did just enough to make him put his effort wide.
“Unbelievable,” Arteta said about Gabriel’s challenge. “That’s probably the only action that (Atletico) had. But in the Champions League there are moments, and in those moments someone has to deliver a magic moment. And Gabriel again, he delivered that.”
Atletico was then denied a possible penalty when Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori stepped on the foot of Antoine Griezmann in the area, as referee Daniel Siebert awarded a free kick to the hosts for an earlier incident instead.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone, clad in his customary all-black attire, grew increasingly agitated on the sidelines as the decisions went against his club and the search for an equalizer proved fruitless. He was eventually booked in injury time after pushing Andrea Berta — his former sporting director at Atletico who is now in the same role at Arsenal.
Afterward, though, Simeone refused to blame the referee and said Arsenal deserved to advance.
“I’m not going to get into something as simple as the action involving Griezmann,” Simeone said through a translator — although perhaps with a hint of sarcasm. “Of course we all know that it was a foul by (Atletico defender) Marc Pubill on one of their players beforehand. We all thought the referee had got it right. I don’t want to get involved in that because I don’t want to make excuses.”
Simeone led his team to the Champions League final in 2014 and 2016, losing both times to Real Madrid, but will have to wait for a third chance to deliver the club’s first European Cup.
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres had a great chance to double the lead on a counterattack in the 66th when Piero Hincapie picked him out with a cross but he side footed his effort over the bar.
As expected, though, this matchup never looked likely to descend into the kind of free-flowing back-and-forth attacking play of the PSG-Bayern game, as Arsenal’s defence held firm.
Whichever team wins that second semifinal, the final in Budapest promises to be a contrast in styles.