Arsenal were completely unfazed by the noise of the Bernabeu as they emerged 2-1 winners in a mature performance that saw them secure a place in the UCL semi-finals for the first time in 16 years.

A defensive masterclass from the Gunners saw next to no threat from Madrid, with their solitary goal of the tie coming due to a defensive mistake from Arsenal.

Bukayo Saka, who had a penalty saved early in the match, opened the scoring in the 65th minute when he received the ball wide open in the box, clipping his attempt over Courtois.

Only two minutes later, Vincius Jr. got a goal back for his side as he won the ball from William Saliba and blasted his shot into the back of the net to give his team a glimmer of hope.

With almost no hope left in the 93rd minute of proceedings, Gabriel Martinelli was played through as the Brazilian used his pace to get on the end of the pass from Merino, slotting his effort to win the game on the night in addition to the tie.

This seals a semi-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain, who have also impressed in Europe this season in what is likely to be a high-intensity duo of matches.

VAR Drama:

It did not take long for the Beranbeu to drop to near silence when Francois Letexier – the referee on the night – ran over to the VAR monitor to review an incident that occurred inside the Real Madrid box between Raul Asencio and Mikel Merino in which the latter appeared to be dragged down.

This was exactly how the referee viewed it, pointing to the penalty spot and giving Arsenal the chance to get the invaluable opening goal of the match. Bukayo Saka was the man to step up for the penalty. The jeer-filled Bernabeu may have affected the winger as his attempt at a panenka to the right subjected Thibaut Courtois to a simple save.

Ten minutes following this, Real Madrid thought they had won a penalty as Kylian Mbappe went down from what appeared to be a challenge from Declan Rice who received a yellow card. But the VAR was not convinced that it was in fact a penalty and opted for a review.

This was the beginning of a very lengthy process that lasted around five minutes, angering fans of both sides who wanted a decision. The VAR eventually came to the decision that Declan Rice did not foul Mbappe, resulting in both the penalty and the booking being rescinded.

Cross and Pray:

One thing that grew more obvious as the first half unfolded was that Real Madrid seemingly did not have a plan to break down the Arsenal defence, and if they did, it was not an effective one.

Real Madrid’s front three are a trio known for their dribbling skills as well as their ability to break forward quickly, but this is something that was not on display on the night.

Instead, Real Madrid seemingly opted to cross the ball into the box in which there was no clear threat for the hosts. Unlike in previous years when they’ve had number nines like Karim Benzema, Madrid’s front free lacked a focal point, and this showed in the first half with Antonio Rüdiger coming closest to getting on the end of a cross.

Real Madrid entered the changing rooms at half time, having not tested David Raya, who was enduring a much quieter night than he would have expected before kick-off.

Stop-Start affair:

One aspect of the game that really suited the visitors and what they were looking to achieve on the night was how often the game was being paused.

It was quite clear that the Gunners were looking to run down the clock from kick off as Raya took his time with every goal kick that came his way, leading to his booking later in the first half.

Whether Arterta’s game plan was to win as many free kicks as possible or not, they certainly did just that with the referee blowing his whistle 18 times for Arsenal free kicks – this allowing them to slow the tempo and kill any momentum that the hosts had built.

Real Madrid also had their share of free kicks, with the referee awarding an additional 15 of the set pieces to the home side.

This played perfectly into the hands of Arsenal as the tempo of the game never allowed Madrid to form any sort of momentum.

Rice the star once again:

The outstanding player from the first leg of the tie picked up just where he left off, this time with a more defensive performance. The midfielder made a flurry of crucial interceptions to ensure Madrid got no clear sight of goal.

Alongside Thomas Partey, the England international ran the midfield leaving the Real Madrid midfield with no degree of control and a result, no way of creating anything to threaten that Arsenal back line.

Having made the headlines with that spectacular pair of free kicks last week, Rice did just that once again, very quickly establishing himself as one of the best in the world.

The Teams:

Real Madrid: T. Courtois, L. Vazquez, R. Asencio, A. Rüdiger, D. Alaba, F. Valverde, A. Tchouameni, J. Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappé

Booked:

Unused Subs: F. González, S. Mestre, L. Modrić, A. Guler, Endrick, J. Vallejo, D. Ceballos, F. Garcia, B. Diaz

Arsenal: D. Raya, J. Timber, W. Saliba, J. Kiwior, M. Lewis-Skelly, T. Partey, D. Rice, M. Odegaard, B. Saka, G. Martinelli, M. Merino

Booked:

Unused Subs: Neto, T. Setford, K. Tierney, B. White, O. Zinchenko, J. Gower, J. Henry-Francis, M. Rosiak, L. Trossard, R. Sterling, N. Butler-Oyedeji, E. Nwaneri