Pitch-perfect Arsenal eliminates Real Madrid from Champions League

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Madrid has built a solid reputation for itself a Champions League escape artist, and there is no first leg result it cannot overturn. Madridistas have a word for it: remontada, Spanish for "comeback." 

Madrid's famous modern Champions League remontada came in 2017, when the team fell 4-0 to Paris Saint Germain only to beat it 6-1 in the second leg and eliminate it on aggregate. Dozens of Champions League remontadas have come for Madrid since then. In 2021-22, Madrid managed three in a row — against Paris, Chelsea and finally Manchester City — en route to lifting the Champions League trophy. The feeling across Europe has always been than Madrid is unbeatable in a two-legged tie.

“We have had previous experiences. These feelings are contagious," said Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti after his team's humiliating 3-0 loss to Arsenal in Game 1. "It was almost immediate, on the bus, even though we weren’t like we are now.”

Arsenal lined up for this game as if it had no advantage whatsoever; from coach Mikel Arteta's perspective, Madrid's remontada spirit nullified Arsenal's 3-0 lead. 

"It is part of their history and I understand it,” Arteta said of Madrid's taste for comeback victories. “They have the right to think of that scenario. 

"Our mindset has to be different. We try to repeat the opposite message to what they have in the last 72 hours."

That's precisely what Arsenal did. From the very first minute, the team was aggressive, purposeful and unafraid. It bullied Madrid on and off the ball and worked hard to make the game frenetic and physical. Madrid earned its first yellow card after just four minutes; many more would follow as the game devolved into chaos.

The first half was a tale of two penalties that weren't. Arsenal's came first when Raul Asencio took down Mikel Merino in the box; wunderkind Bukayo Saka flubbed his shot directly at goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and wasted the opportunity. 

Real Madrid's came moments later, when Declan Rice pulled Kylian Mbappe down on the other end of the field. Rice's challenge was near-identical to Asencio's moments before, and the referee duly awarded Real Madrid a penalty. An interminable six-minute VAR check followed — and after much deliberation, the penalty was overturned. Madrid was rightly furious, and the half ended at 0-0.

Arsenal struck first in the second half, with Saka making up for his penalty miss by finishing off a gorgeous team passing move. But Madrid leveled almost immediately when Arsenal defender William Saliba misplayed the ball inside his own penalty box. 

Vini Jr. — Madrid's talented, controversial winger — seized the opportunity and fired the ball into the net. For a moment, it felt like the remontada was on.

As the minutes ticked down, though, Arsenal kept Madrid quiet — and kept the score at 1-1. 

Polish defender Jakub Kiwior, in the starting eleven due to a handful of injuries, was a big part of how Arsenal pulled if off. He isn't exactly beloved among the Arsenal fandom, but the stats don't lie: Arsenal hasn't lost a single game this season that Kiwior has started

The energy slowly drained out of the Bernabeu as Arsenal's confidence grew. With the final whistle just seconds away, Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli found a winner. It was the perfect way to cap off one of Arsenal's biggest and best European results of all time: the team advanced with a bang, not a whimper.

Questions will be asked about Real Madrid's commitment and competitiveness, and rightfully so. This is a team capable of the sport's greatest remontadas, but it simply wasn't able to pull one off today. Has Ancelotti lost his magic touch? Or was this Arsenal side simply too strong for Madrid to overcome?

Arsenal fans will hope it's the latter. The club has never won the Champions League and hasn't appeared in the final since 2006. If this Arsenal side can flip the script on Madrid and its famous remontadas, then surely it can flip the script on its own Champions League history.

Arsenal will continue its Champions League journey with a two-legged semifinal against Paris Saint Germain starting on April 29.