Mature Arsenal make a mockery of Remontada claims to see off Real Madrid and silence Santiago Bernabeu | OneFootball

Meek Real Madrid never threatened to make it a tough night for the Gunners

In the end, there was no famous Real Madrid comeback, no ‘Remontada’, just a pocket of Arsenal fans who did not want to leave the Bernabeu.

Tucked away up in the gods of this huge stadium, they must have felt like they were in heaven after a night like this.

Arsenal are into the semi-finals of the Champions League and they have done it by knocking out Real Madrid. What is more, they have done it by beating Real Madrid in both legs.

This was a famous night, Arsenal’s second in a week, and everywhere you looked there were heroes.

Declan Rice, whose two free-kicks downed Real Madrid in the first leg, showed the other side to his game. This was a monstrous performance from the midfielder, who covered so much ground, tackling and blocking everything in sight like a man possessed.

Rice led the celebrations at the full-time whistle, along with Bukayo Saka - who had his shirt off and whipped round his head.

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This had looked like it would be a night of pain for Saka, who missed his first penalty in two years during the opening 15 minutes. The winger went for an uncharacteristic Panenka chip and Thibaut Courtois was able to claw it away.

That ignited an already raucous Bernabeu. The fans had geared up for the game by waiting for hours to cheer the team bus into the ground, lining the streets and letting off flares.

It was Saka who eventually silenced them, fittingly scoring with a dinked finish just after the hour mark.

That moment made you feel like this was going to be Arsenal’s night. Saka’s pain transformed to joy in the space of an hour.

A lot is made about the 23-year-old’s mentality and the way he bounced back in the second half underlined the strength he has.

Before that, this had been a torturous evening for the Arsenal fans - even if the statistics said otherwise.

Real Madrid did not have a shot on target in the first half, but a penalty - which VAR overturned after Kylian Mbappe was judged to have gone down too softly following contact from Rice - summed up the sense that some of the Bernabeu’s dark magic could be at play.

In reality, Arsenal gave Madrid very little to feed off and only a rare error from William Saliba, who was otherwise excellent, gifted the hosts an equaliser minutes after Saka’s goal.

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Vinicius Junior pounced after Saliba dallied on the ball on the edge of his box and, suddenly, the Bernabeu believed again.

Arsenal, however, were not flustered. The collapses of old under Arteta never materialised and instead Arsenal showed maturity.

Jakub Kiwior was excellent in the heart of defence. Myles Lewis-Skelly made a mockery of the fact that he’s 18.

Thomas Partey just ahead of them screened the back-four so well and the only blemish on an otherwise dream night was the fact he got booked for pushing Dani Ceballos over. Partey will now miss the first leg of the semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal will not fear the French champions, who they beat earlier this season, and the way they finished this game underlined their hunger to win.

Arteta had said before the game the Gunners had come here looking for a victory, even when a 2-0 defeat would do - and he was right.

Mikel Merino, creator of the first goal and another hero on the night, set Gabriel Martinelli away in the dying moments. The Brazilian had half of the pitch ahead of him and a place in the history books, too.

Cool as you like, Martinelli slotted the finish in a manner that Thierry Henry would have been proud of.

The Arsenal players mobbed him afterwards and the fans in the away end became a sea of limbs.