The first participant of the 2026 UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on 30 May was decided at the Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom, on Tuesday, 5 May, where Arsenal faced Atlético Madrid for the second leg of their semi-final clash.
Most neutral football fans have been very open about treating this bracket of the UCL semi-finals as the ‘red-headed stepchild’, emphasizing that the eventual winners would likely come out of the PSG–Bayern match-up. This sentiment was only exacerbated after the 5–4 thriller in Paris, France, last week.
Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid finished 1–1 against Arsenal in the first leg last week on their home turf, with both goals being scored from penalties.
The day before the rematch, the Gunners got an unexpected emotional boost. Manchester City tied Everton 3–3 on Monday in the English Premier League, which means that the path to taking the league title is back in Arsenal’s hands. If they win all three of their remaining games in the domestic league, they will become Premier League champions for the first time since their legendary ‘invincible’ 2003–2004 season.
Atlético, meanwhile, are comfortably cruising towards a top-four finish in the Spanish La Liga, which would grant them a UCL spot in next season as well. They could also achieve that by winning the Champions League—but first, they had to get past Arsenal to get to the Budapest final.
The first half did not do much to disprove the naysayers about the potential quality of the game. It took 45 minutes for either side to get a shot on target. However, when Arsenal finally did so, they immediately earned a goal. Trossard’s shot from inside the box was parried away by Atlético keeper Jan Oblak at first, but Bukayo Saka was there to put away the rebound from a few steps out.
The Spanish side nearly got themselves an equalizer just six minutes after the break. Giuliano Simeone snatched a short-headed backpass by Saliba, even dribbled past Arsenal goalie David Raya, but Gabriel was able to push him into a tight enough angle to prevent him from hitting the empty net.
Arsenal too had the opportunity to add to their lead, but Viktor Gyökeres fired the ball over the bar from a great position in the 66th minute.
The last few minutes brought choppy football with the ball barely in play and no real chances on either end. However, that was well enough for Arsenal for a 2–1 win on aggregate. Head coach Mikel Arteta’s boys made it to the UEFA Champions League final for the second time in their club’s history, and for the first time in 20 years!
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