Mikel Arteta is excited to make history with Arsenal in the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta praised his “incredible” players for “making history” after Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time to give the Gunners a 2-1 aggregate semi-final victory. They will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on May 30.
After Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday – which puts the Premier League title race in Arsenal’s hands – and their victory over Diego Simeone’s side here just 24 hours later,
Arteta’s men are now just four games away from completing a crucial double and the biggest campaign in the club’s 1,140-year history.
Arsenal has never won Europe’s biggest tournament, and Arteta said, “It was an incredible night. We made history together again and I couldn’t be happier and prouder for everyone involved at this football club.
“The supporters were with us every ball; they made it special and unique, and I’ve never felt like that in this stadium.
We knew how much it meant to everyone. We put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job, and after 20 years, for the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.
Arsenal will go into the competition as the only unbeaten team this season after an impressive record of 11 wins and three draws. In fact, their 14-match unbeaten run is a new Champions League record for the north London club.
But Arteta’s side next face West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, before a home match against Burnley and an away clash at Crystal Palace. Three wins would be enough for Arsenal to secure their first Premier League title in 22 years before they travel to Hungary.
And Arteta added: “It’s great. Everyone can feel the energy, the belief, and the change in everything. Let’s use it properly and understand that the margin and difficulty of what we’re trying to achieve are huge but that we have the ability and belief to do it.
“I’m going to thoroughly enjoy it tonight; everyone is enjoying the moment now. However, tomorrow we need to start preparing for Sunday. We have an incredible game against West Ham, which is really tough, and we have four days to do that. Let’s enjoy the moment but start living in the present tomorrow.”
In the closing moments of the game, Atleti head coach Simone pushed Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta on the touchline. However, he proved formidable even in defeat.
Simeone said, “If we got knocked out, it’s because our opponents deserved to go through. I would rather not make excuses.
“Mikel Arteta has done an incredible job at Arsenal. He has been trying to get to this point for a long time, to win the Premier League and the Champions League.
They have incredible financial power tied to what they’re doing, and I’m happy for them because they deserve it.
