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Three things we learned from Arsenal win as fans rise to occasion on biggest ever Emirates night

Ben White’s return to form adds to excitement as Arsenal on the cusp of historic season

By Evening Standard

• May 06, 2026 at 6:51 AM

Three things we learned from Arsenal win as fans rise to occasion on biggest ever Emirates night Photo: Evening Standard

"Over Land And Sea" was the message from the Arsenal tifo ahead of kick-off.

The club's supporters will now cross both on their way to Budapest later this month to witness what could be the greatest night in Arsenal's history.

A 1-0 win on the night over Atletico Madrid via Bukayo Saka's finish made it 2-1 on aggregate and with that a place in the Champions League final was secured.

Only once before have the Gunners graced club football's biggest stage.

Two decades ago, they fell short against Barcelona in Paris.

On May 30, Mikel Arteta and his players will have their shot at unprecedented glory.

The nature of the post-match celebrations highlighted just what Arsenal had achieved.

Mikel Arteta and his players covered almost every inch of the pitch, sprinting across the surface from the Clock End to the North Bank.

Ten minutes after full-time, it looked and sounded as though not a single Arsenal fan had left the stadium.

This was a herculean effort.

Arsenal were absolutely tireless in their defending, stepping up in intensity as Atletico pushed and the stakes grew.

Saka's goal gave Arsenal something to defend and they did just that.

Declan Rice won player of the match but Gabriel, William Saliba and Ben White must have pushed him close .

The past weekend flipped the mood at Arsenal.

From the unmistakable sense that things were slipping away amid all the tension, the Gunners have regathered themselves and now history is theirs to be had.

Three wins will secure a first Premier League title in 22 years .

One more victory in the Champions League and they will be European champions for the first time ever.

On perhaps the biggest night Arsenal have had at the Emirates, the Arsenal supporters certainly rose to their occasion.

It was already busy outside the stadium more than three hours before kick-off.

Thousands of supporters than gathered to greet the Arsenal coach as it arrived at the ground.

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Those were remarkable scenes - "I've never seen an atmosphere like this when we were about to enter the stadium," was Arteta's verdict.

That continued in the stadium too.

Martin Keown attempted to give a touchline interview 15 minutes before kick-off and not a single word was heard, so loud were the Arsenal chants even at that stage .

Those fans were needed in five minutes of stoppage-time.

The noise was extraordinary through every one of those, the crowd on its feet to roar Arsenal to Budapest.

Hostile, relentless and a driving force.

When the full-time whistle was blown, the Emirates has perhaps never been louder.

That sparked utter bedlam in the stands and on the pitch.

Arsenal have spent large chunks of the last two months longing for the return of Jurrien Timber.

Neither White or Cristhian Mosquera have quite filled that void - until now.

When Arsenal need it most, White produced his best performance of the season .

Most of Arsenal's most dangerous moments in the first-half came down their right and it was through that telepathic relationship between White and Saka.

White betters understands Saka's movements than any one.

He knows when to time the pass in behind, just as Saka is showing short and the defender is drawn in.

The full-back had some lovely moments in attack as he combined with Saka and Eberechi Eze.

Defensively he has struggled at times in recent months but here White was near enough faultless.

He made four clearances and five recoveries.

Deep into stoppage-time he was still charging forward to win big headers.

This was how you play your way into the starting lineup for a Champions League final .

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The youngster started in midfield and played 74 minutes before being replaced by Martin Zubimendi as the Gunners edged past Atletico to book their place in the Champions League final .

It has not been an easy campaign for Lewis-Skelly, who has struggled for minutes under Mikel Arteta .

Tuesday’s start was just his 18th of the season.

But he was back to his best against Atletico.

A natural full-back, he impressed in his new midfield role, and has taken to social media to lift the lid on his post-match celebrations.

For about ten adrenaline-fuelled minutes in the midst of the Arsenal madness, Mikel Arteta let loose.

The Spaniard is normally obsessive in his pursuit of control.

He goes through the same routine before every match, from his shower, to his food, to his clothes.

His Arsenal team, built very much from the back, are an embodiment of that.

On Tuesday night, though, all bets were off.

A place in the Champions League final had been secured with a 2-1 aggregate win over Atletico Madrid.

Having jogged over to shake hands with Diego Simeone, Arteta raced between embraces with every player and member of his backroom team.

Both legs were wrapped around David Raya as he launched himself at the goalkeeper.

Arteta called everyone over to the Clock End to take in a post-match rendition of 'The Angel' and then led the charge the length of the pitch to the North Bank.

Leandro Trossard was grabbed and Arteta began dancing, moving with such carefree abandon it was like he had just discovered he had legs.

Read Matt Verri's Arsenal long read here!

Henry reveals Saka injury worry after Champions League semi-final win
Thierry Henry has revealed that Bukayo Saka was playing through injury as he scored the goal which sent Arsenal to the Champions League final on Tuesday night.

“Being a footballer is not so much always about the glamorous time,” he said on CBS Sports.

“He’s been questioned all season.

Can he be the guy?

Is he not the guy?

Is he the star boy?

Is he not the star boy?

Is he better than him or not better than him?

Today he had to play with barely training.

I know he’s suffering with his Achilles tendon.”
Wenger disagrees with Rooney over Arsenal celebrations
Arsene Wenger disagrees with Wayne Rooney over Arsenal celebrating reaching the Champions League final.

The former Manchester United and England captain, who has won the Champions League, was dismissive of the scenes.

He said on Prime Video: "They haven’t won it yet.

"I think the celebrations are a little bit too heavy.

Celebrate when you win… but no, they deserve it."
Former Gunners manager Wenger, who guided the club to their first Champions League final in 2006, insisted the celebrations were "absolutely normal".

He said on beIN Sports: "In the end it’s a well-deserved win for Arsenal, there’s no doubt they were the better team over the two legs.

"They celebrate well tonight which is normal but you want to focus already on the final and the next games.

"The celebration is deserved and happiness is normal – absolutely normal – but the next step is to go to the final and win in."
Who does Saka and Arsenal squad want to face in the final?

Bukayo Saka has given a surprise answer when asked who him and the Arsenal squad want to face in the Champions League final.

Gunners star Saka scored the only goal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday as Atletico were beaten 1-0 in the semi-final second leg.

Facing Arsenal in the Budapest showpiece later in May will be the victors between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

Asked on CBS Sports after the game who out of Bayern and PSG he would rather face, Saka replied "Come on, man...

you can't ask me that.

I'd have to give a media-trained answer."
Pushed for a response, Saka somewhat relented, adding: "You know deep down who we'd want to face in the final."
Truly is world-class.

Great pace and strength to stop Alvarez getting away in the first half.

Perfect pass in behind created space for opener.

Fortune one poor header was not punished after Gabriel heroics.

Incredible defending to deny Simeone after he had gone past Raya.

Then launched himself in front of Pubill.

Huge presence.

Might be the best in the world at winning cheap free-kicks to relieve pressure.

Big match, big performance.

No surprise he rose to the occasion.

Goal-saving block early on as Simeone looked certain to score.

Several powerful driving runs.

Corner delivery was superb too.