JAKARTA - Arsenal advanced to the Champions League final after defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the second leg semifinal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka's lone goal gave the Gunners a 2-1 aggregate lead after the two teams drew 1-1 in the first leg.
This is Arsena's first Champions League final since 2006 when the London club became runners-up after losing 1-2 to Barcelona, according to UEFA's website.
Atletico, as reported by Antara, immediately pressed. The first opportunity came in the 8th minute through the cooperation of Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone who gave space for Julian Alvarez, but his shot went wide on the left side of the goal.
Arsenal responded with a shot from Riccardo Calafiori from outside the penalty area, which still bounced. In the 34th minute, the hosts asked for a penalty after Leandro Trossard fell due to contact with Griezmann. However, the referee did not heed the protest.
The deadlock finally broke before halftime. In the 44th minute, Bukayo Saka scored after taking advantage of a rebound from Leandro Trossard's shot as a result of a collaboration with Viktor Gyokeres.
In the second half, Atletico appeared more aggressive to catch up. Giuliano Simeone fell in the penalty box during a duel with Gabriel Magalhaes, but the referee again did not give a penalty.
Attack after attack continued to be launched by Diego Simeone's team, but Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was solid under the bar. On the other hand, Arsenal almost doubled the lead in the 65th minute through Gyokeres' shot which bounced narrowly over the goal.
Towards the end of the match, Atletico increased the intensity of the attack. Alexander Sorloth, who came on as a substitute, created opportunities, including a backheel pass to Marcos Llorente, unfortunately, it didn't work.
Another chance Sorloth also managed to block Arsenal's defense. Arsenal advanced to the final with a 2-1 aggregate.
Mikel Arteta's team also maintained an unbeaten record in the Champions League this season with 10 wins and three draws.
In the final, Arsenal will face the winner of the Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Muenchen match, which will only play the second leg of the semi-final the next day.
Line-up: Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori (Hincapie 58'); Rice, Lewis-Skelly (Zubimendi 73'); Saka (Madueke 58'), Eze (Odegaard 58'), Trossard (Martinelli 83'); Gyokeres
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak; Pubill, Le Normand (Sorloth 57'), Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone (Cardoso 57'), Llorente, Koke, Lookman (Molina 57'), Griezmann (Baena 66'), Alvarez (Almada 66')
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