Arsenal need to finish the job in Spain to secure Champions League semi-final spot

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Arsenal have put one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League following a stunning 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Gunners booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 9-3 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven but Mikel Arteta knew it would be a much harder task against reigning champions Madrid. Playing the first leg at home is usually a disadvantage in close ties such as these, but Arsenal used their home advantage to blow Madrid away and take control of the tie.

The Londoners had the better of the first half with Thibaut Courtois making two fine saves to deny Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli in quick succession but Madrid looked dangerous on the counter-attack with Kylian Mbappe testing the hands of David Raya.

However, Arsenal were by far the better team after the break and blew the Spaniard’s away with three quick-fire goals. Rice has been showing his abilities at taking corners this season but hadn’t made his mark from direct free-kicks. That all changed on Tuesday night as he opening the scoring with a stunning 30-yard curler that stunned those lucky enough to have Champions League tickets for the game.

Just 12 minutes later, Rice had another opportunity to test Courtois from a dead ball after Bukayo Saka was brought down outside the box. Rice stepped up to smash home into the top corner to make it 2-0 to Arsenal. If the first one was good, the second was outstanding and the Emirates crowd were stunned by what they had witnessed.

In the 74th minute, Arsenal fans were sent into dream land when Mikel Merino found the bottom corner with a superb finish to make it 3-0. It was no more than Arsenal deserved as they were excellent in the second half and dominated Madrid all over the park. The La Liga giants didn’t have a sniff and it was arguably the best 45 minutes of Arteta’s reign as manager.

It was a true statement win for Arsenal, and the kind of result this group of players needed to prove they belong back among Europe’s elite. After pushing Manchester City so close to the Premier League in the last two years and looking likely to finish as bridesmaid’s once again this season, the Gunners deserved a big win over a team like Madrid.

Job not done yet

However, despite taking a healthy 3-0 lead to Spain for the second leg, Arteta was quick to remind his players after the game that the tie is far from over. Arsenal now have to go to the Bernabeu next week and finish the job to book their place in the semi-finals.

It will be a tricky game to manage as Arsenal have a 3-0 lead to defend but it would be very risky to park the bus and invite a talented team like Madrid on to them for 90 minutes. The Spaniard’s have more than enough quality in attack to score at least 3 goals with the likes of Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham in the team.

Arsenal cannot afford to just sit on their lead as an early Madrid goal would blow the tie wide open and send panic through the Gunners team. Arteta needs to be brave and go to the Bernabeu with the game plan of trying to get a fourth goal that would all-but end the tie. Arsenal proved on Tuesday they can cause Madrid all sorts of problems – despite not fielding an out-and-out striker – so they should head into the second leg confident they can score at least once at the Bernabeu.

PSG next?

If Arsenal can get the job done against Madrid next week, it looks like Paris Saint-Germain will be waiting for them in the semi-finals. The French giants produced another superb display in Europe to beat Aston Villa 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

Luis Enrique’s side have improved significantly since Arsenal eased to a 2-0 win over PSG in the group phase of the Champions League back in October. However, that win at the Emirates Stadium should give Arsenal plenty of confidence if they do face-off against the Ligue 1 champions again in the last-4.

The Gunners were by far the better team and goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka sealed a deserved 2-0 victory. Obviously things will be very different in the semi-finals and PSG have already wrapped up the Ligue 1 title so they will be able to rest players to make sure they are fresh for the Champions League.

Ousmane Dembele is a player reborn this season and would be a real dangerman to the Arsenal defence. However, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would be the man to watch as he’s been sensational since signing for PSG in January. The Georgian international scored another stunner against Villa and would be a huge threat down the left wing against Arsenal in the next round.

Barcelona or Inter in the final?

Barcelona have all-but secured their place in the final after thrashing Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their quarter-final first leg. The front three of Robert Lewnadowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have been the best attack in Europe this season and would be a real test for Arsenal’s defence should they meet in the final.

Inter Milan have also taken control of their quarter-final after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 away on Wednesday night. Inter have had the best defence in the competition this season so it will be fascinating to see how the tie plays out if they meet free-scoring Barca in the last-4.

Arsenal fans aren’t rushing out to buy UEFA Champions League final tickets just yet but they have put themselves in a terrific position to make the semi-finals and will hold no fear if they play PSG for a place in the final. It should be a thrilling two-legged tie against the French giants and a very even contest.

In truth, there is very little to choose from between the four likely semi-finalists. Inter, Barca, PSG and Arsenal are all fairly well matched so it will be interesting to see how those ties play out should they all get the job done to book their places in the semi-finals later this month.

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