Arsenal are through to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals—finally breaking a 16-year wait.
They did it in style, beating defending champions Real Madrid 2-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.
Thomas Partey returned from injury to partner Declan Rice in midfield. Saka, Odegaard, and Martinelli also came back into the starting XI.
The Gunners had a big chance to open the scoring when VAR spotted a foul on Mikel Merino in the box.
But Bukayo Saka fluffed his lines—his cheeky Panenka was easily caught by Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid thought they’d earned a penalty too when Kylian Mbappe went down under a Rice challenge.
The ref initially pointed to the spot but reversed his call after checking the monitor—huge sighs of relief for Arsenal.
Saka made up for his earlier miss in the 65th minute, calmly lobbing Courtois after a smooth team move.
Vinicius Jr. hit back almost instantly, winning the ball high and drilling it into the net to give Madrid hope.
But Arsenal weren’t done. In stoppage time, Gabriel Martinelli burst into the box and finished coolly to seal the win.
It ended 2-1 in Madrid, and 5-1 over the two legs. The Gunners are back among Europe’s elite.
Meanwhile, over in Italy, Inter Milan booked their own semi-final spot after a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
Inter had won the first leg 2-1 in Germany, giving them a slight edge heading into the return fixture.
Bayern struck first just after the break—Leon Goretzka set up Harry Kane, who tapped in from close range.
But Inter fired back quickly. Lautaro Martinez blasted in an equaliser after Bayern failed to clear a corner.
Just minutes later, Benjamin Pavard—ironically a former Bayern man—headed in from a Calhanoglu corner to put Inter ahead.
Eric Dier leveled things late for Bayern, but it wasn’t enough. Inter held on and went through 4-3 on aggregate.
