Home UCL UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Arteta Praises Arsenal Fans as Gunners Reach Champions League Final After Atletico Win

Arteta Praises Arsenal Fans as Gunners Reach Champions League Final After Atletico Win

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Arteta Praises Arsenal Fans as Gunners Reach Champions League Final After Atletico Win
Saka fires Arsenal to final as Arteta hails team unity at Emirates

The Gunners remain five points clear in the Premier League as they chase a first league title in 22 years and a European double.


Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 second-leg victory at the Emirates, sending Arsenal to Budapest to face PSG or Bayern Munich...


Mikel Arteta credited Arsenal supporters for “setting the standards” after the club secured a place in the Champions League final following a 2-1 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.


The Gunners sealed a 1-0 second-leg win at the Emirates thanks to Bukayo Saka’s first-half strike.


Arsenal, still chasing their first European crown, will now meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in Budapest later this month, marking their second final appearance since 2006.


“It's an amazing night. To live these kind of moments with our people, our players, everybody at the club, it's just an incredible feeling,“ Arsenal boss Arteta told Amazon Prime.


“It makes sense, a lot of the things that we do and we go through, when you just see so many happy faces and so many people proud of what we are doing.


“It was unbelievable right from the beginning - the manner that our supporters waited for us at the stadium, the energy, the passion that they put in, it was just great to witness.”


Arteta said his squad drew energy from the electric atmosphere inside the Emirates.


“I think they set the standards and we tried to catch up with them immediately. It's so good after so many years to give that joy back to them and see that pride in their eyes. It's beautiful to watch.”



Team Spirit at the Core

The Spaniard highlighted his players’ unity as the aspect he valued most from the performance.


“It was very difficult to make certain decisions and I feel a lot for the boys, because I know generally how good people they are and some of them, I talked to them this afternoon and I said, 'I apologise, I'm going to play the same team'.


“And their reaction immediately was, 'I'm here when you need me, I'm going to be right with the team' and gave me a hug, so what else do I want?”


Arteta said Saka, who made his Arsenal debut in December 2019, was the ideal player to decide the tie.


“It had to be someone very special and he's certainly someone very special with me and for the boys and for everybody attached to this club, so if he had to be someone scoring that goal, probably it had to be him.”




Arsenal have four matches remaining this campaign as they pursue an unprecedented Champions League and Premier League double.


They lead the Premier League by five points over Manchester City with one extra game played, putting them in position to claim their first domestic title in 22 years.


Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone declined to offer excuses following his side’s exit.




“If we got knocked out it's because our opponents deserved to go through, they took their big chance in the first half and they deserved to go through. I feel calm, I feel peaceful,” he told UEFA.


“We weren't clinical enough with the situations we were in. We improved in the second half. There were things that could've gone our way but they didn't.


“We gave it our all and now we have to accept the place that we are in. Thanks to our supporters and players, I feel proud to be where we are right now.”



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