Declan Rice was named the best player of the match, Bukayo Saka provided the only goal of the game and Sweden’s Viktor Gyökeres has fought his way back from being on Arsenal’s sales list to showing how hard you can work as a footballer.
Captain Martin Ødegaard came on after 56 minutes and helped secure a victory with very defensive play.
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No one is talking about selling Viktor Gyökeres anymore
Last summer, the Swedish striker pushed through a transfer from Sporting for “only” 66.9 million euros despite the fact that the market value was higher, according to Transfermarkt.
Viktor Gyökeres helped Arsenal to victory in the double header against Atlético Madrid and it is actually 20 years since the last time the London club was a final – A final that Sporten.com expert panel believes will go to the winner of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich later today.
The Spaniards impressed in the second half of the first meeting. They had the upper hand and enough chances to be able to travel to London with the lead. But 1-1 remained. On Tuesday night, Arsenal had the answers. The most convincing thing of all was Viktor Gyökeres’ play as a striker.
Admittedly, Arsenal started high in the pressure without the ball – with an energy boost from the Fulham game and a lit Emirates Stadium behind them – but it was in the role of ball receiver that the Swede showed himself best.
“Like a mountain in the air”
Atlético also pressed high when the opportunity arose. But when the Arsenal defence felt pressured, they could hit a long ball – and then Viktor Gyökeres took over.
He timed his positioning perfectly, stepped in front of the centre-backs, held off with his strong upper body and broke through possession in the most impossible situations. He also found his teammates with precise passes and plays. Arsenal could breathe a sigh of relief – and take new steps higher up the pitch. The Emirates Stadium roared its recognition.
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– Race duels? No problem
It was a well-timed deep run from the Swede that laid the foundation for the 1-0 goal just before half-time. Leandro Trossard’s low shot was saved by Jan Oblak, but Bukayo Saka couldn’t have missed from close range on the rebound.
Gyökeres came close to giving Arsenal an even bigger advantage in the second half. He fought his way past Marc Pubill and was felled just before he had an open way to the finish. Red card? Not this time. Referee Daniel Siebert maintained a consistently high level – we’re talking overtime in a World Cup final in hockey – and settled for a warning. It can be argued that Gyökeres did not yet have full control of the ball floating in the air. The point is not that the referee was wrong – because he probably didn’t – but that Gyökeres, with his physicality and determination, almost got Arsenal one more man on the pitch.
Should have scored himself at the end
He himself should have increased the goal lead at the end of the game when he met substitute Piero Hincapié’s flying cross with a perfect broadside. But instead of drilling into the crossbar, the ball flew over the crossbar.
However, it didn’t matter for Arsenal that night. A display of defensive control – even if it smelled like cat in a couple of random situations – secured the Gunners their first Champions League final in 20 years. The Arsenal fans had charged, delivered – and could now enjoy themselves in the London rain.
Floating on clouds
On Monday, Manchester City lost points to Everton. On Tuesday, Arsenal reached the CL final. Where will this week end for the Gunners? Right now, a massive Viktor Gyökeres and his teammates are floating on clouds.
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