EMIRATES – The roar and red mist that thrust Arsenal into their biggest night since this stadium was built were never just a carnival hangover from the night before. Whatever torturous days lie in store for England’s champions-elect, 90 minutes are all that stand between them and glory: European glory at that. Flights booked, passports ready: they are heading for Budapest.
It always mattered immeasurably. But it mattered more in the month they are dreaming of ending a separate two decades of heartache. On overcast north London evenings like this, the air full of gloom and damp, the usual fear of impending clouds were banished for a moment, hopes of another unlikely triumph fuelled by Manchester City’s Merseyside implosion.
You will have heard the aspersions about this Arsenal side: that they are incapable of getting over the line, powerless to break out of stale, familiar patterns. Perhaps you will have heard there are misconceptions about Atletico Madrid too, that they are nothing like the Diego Simeone set-ups of old. If not, then they still do a frustratingly good impression.
To put an end to this bloody, two-legged war of attrition, a moment seized, and a prayer answered from Bukayo Saka, who knelt on the pitch after a breakthrough created again by Viktor Gyokeres.
In answer to the naysayers, only three Premier League players have scored more goals than Gyokeres all season. That will surprise a few people, but it was his build-up play that discombobulated Atletico enough to allow Leandro Trossard’s strike to be parried into Saka’s feet by Jan Oblak.
Criticisms have not just been levelled at Gyokeres, who admittedly blared his own best chance over the bar. Almost every one of these players has been doubted, on occasion vilified. Bottlers. Chokers. How about: Champions League finalists.
It could not have happened without Gabriel’s inch-perfect challenge denying Giuliano Simeone once he had all but beaten David Raya. Atletico came at them relentlessly. It was far from certain that Mikel Arteta’s courage would be repaid, keeping faith with the adventurous Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori.
At the perfect time of year, bravery and boldness are reaping unthinkable rewards. Lewis-Skelly the born-again midfielder did some of his best work in the tussles with Julian Alvarez, a player Arteta plans to lure to the Emirates this summer.
Before that, Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich lie in wait. The victors of this tie knew they would travel to Hungary as unfancied underdogs. Arsenal showed they possess the street smarts to at least make it a contest.
Atletico had commenced the hostilities by filing a Uefa complaint over supporters setting off fireworks outside the team hotel in the early hours. That was about as sparkling as it was likely to get. If PSG vs Bayern was hailed as one of the greatest ever semi-finals, some thought this had all the ingredients to turn into one of the worst. Yet these are the two biggest clubs never to have been crowned European champions – more breath was held here than anywhere else.
It could be felt in the flailing wrath of Simeone, encroaching onto the pitch and provoking Arsenal fans throughout. There is already enough edginess built into the fabric here, not helped by a burning sense of injustice. Some still believe that final 20 years ago would not have been lost to Barcelona without an early Jens Lehmann red.
With one last push, these are ghosts that can be buried forever. These are the nights that make or break history. Who would have thought it would all be superseded by the visit of Burnley in a fortnight’s time?