Arteta's Arsenal come of age with Madrid masterclass

A commanding 3-0 first leg victory, lit up by two stunning Declan Rice free-kicks, 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 just months into his reign.

But the Spaniard has transformed a sleeping giant back into serial contenders for major honours. "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 ($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 were part of the Champions League furniture in the early years of Arsene Wenger's reign. Between 2000 and 2017 they never failed to qualify for Europe's elite competition. But when that run came to an end, they spent six years without Champions League football.

Slowly Arteta rebuilt Arsenal back into a force around a core of promising talent 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 another miraculous Champions League comeback was on for the Spanish giants.

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. William Saliba blotted what was an otherwise flawless display over two legs to shut down his French international team-mate Kylian Mbappe moments later as Vinicius Junior pounced to bring Real level.

Rice 'immense'

But even then Arsenal were unflustered and quickly snuffed out any Madrid momentum. Full-backs 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 team-mate 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 have fallen just short to an all-conquering Manchester City in the Premier League title race. They are on course to finish second for a third consecutive year as Liverpool close 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 this competition."

One of Arteta's former clubs as a player, Paris Saint-Germain, await in the last four of a wide open competition. None of the clubs remaining have won the competition for at least a decade as Barcelona face Inter Milan in the other semi-final. "It's the third time in our history that we've done what we've just done (reaching the semi-finals)," added Arteta.

"So we need to build on that. We are really hungry, we want more. It's a really young team that is very determined. "And all these experiences, including me for sure, is going to help us a lot to try to achieve something big."