Gunners blast into final four

Arsenal dethroned the king of the Champions League with ease, as a 5-1 aggregate rout of Real Madrid sent the Gunners into the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

A commanding 3-0 first-leg victory, lit up by two stunning Declan Rice free-kick goals, laid the foundations in London.

But, a 2-1 win in the cauldron of the Santiago Bernabeu to complete the job on Wednesday was a coming of age performance for Mikel Arteta's rising stars.

Arteta's only major trophy in five-and-a-half years in charge remains the 2020 FA Cup, won just months into his reign.

But, the Spaniard has transformed a sleeping giant back into serial contender for major honors.

"I sensed before I signed for the club that we were on an upwards trajectory," said Rice, who rejected the advances of Manchester City to join Arsenal for a club record 105 million pounds ($139 million) in 2023.

"This club is going to do special things in the coming years.

"We all fully believe in it, we have full trust in this manager — he's unbelievable!"

Despite never winning the competition, Arsenal was part of the Champions League furniture in the early years of Arsene Wenger's reign.

Between 2000 and 2017 it never failed to qualify for Europe's elite competition.

But, when that run came to an end, it spent six years without Champions League soccer.

Slowly, Arteta rebuilt Arsenal back into a force around a core of promising players that are now coming into their prime.

Not for the first time in his young career, Bukayo Saka did not let a missed penalty on the big stage affect him.

Saka's early spot-kick was saved by Thibaut Courtois, giving Madrid belief that another miraculous Champions League comeback was on for the Spanish giant.

But, the England international extinguished that hope with a sumptuous dink over the giant Belgian keeper 25 minutes from time to give Arsenal the lead on the night.

Moments later, William Saliba blotted what was an otherwise flawless copybook, shutting down his French international teammate Kylian Mbappe over two legs, as Vinicius Junior pounced to bring Real level.

Rice 'immense'

But, even then, Arsenal was unflustered, and quickly snuffed out any Madrid momentum.

Fullbacks Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jurrien Timber locked down the threat of Vinicius and Rodrygo out wide.

And Rice won the midfield battle against his England teammate Jude Bellingham, with a virtuoso performance that saw him crowned man of the match in both legs.

"Tonight he was immense," said Arteta. "In the moment that the game was 50-50, he got on the ball and turned the game."

In the past two seasons, Arsenal has fallen just short to an all-conquering Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

It is on course to finish second for a third consecutive year, as Liverpool closes in on the title.

But, the Champions League offers Arteta the chance to deliver the major piece of silverware that his project is still missing.

"It's such a special night for this club, it's a historic night for this club," added Rice.

"We have an objective in this competition, we want to play the best teams, and we want to win it.

"There was a lot of talk coming here about them coming back, because they've done it so many times before. But, we had so much belief and confidence from that first leg that we could come here and win the game.

"We knew we were going to suffer, but we knew we were going to win."

One of Arteta's former clubs as a player, Paris Saint-Germain, now awaits in the last four of what is a wide-open competition.

AFP