Arsenal Returns to Champions League Final After 20 Years
Arsenal’s long wait is over. Twenty years after their last appearance on this stage, the club is heading back to a Champions League final – and north London erupted.
Bukayo Saka’s precise finish settled a tense, suffocating second leg against Atletico Madrid at the Emirates, sealing a 1-0 win on the night and a 2-1 victory on aggregate. When the whistle went, the place cracked open. Fireworks burst over the stadium, red flares smoked in the night air, and Mikel Arteta sprinted onto the pitch to join his players in a rolling, cathartic huddle in front of the home end.
For many inside the ground, this wasn’t just a win. It was release.
Celebration – or over-celebration?
Not everyone watching approved of the scale of the party.
Wayne Rooney, working as a pundit for Prime Video Sport, cut straight through the noise. He acknowledged Arsenal’s performance and their right to be there, but drew a hard line on the reaction.
“They deserve to be in this position but they haven't won it yet,” the former Manchester United and England captain said. “I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win!”
In Rooney’s eyes, Budapest is where the real judgement comes. Anything before that is just the prelude.
His verdict landed instantly. Clips and quotes ricocheted around social media, and Arsenal fans were never likely to let a former United icon define their night.
Wright hits back for the Arsenal faithful
If Rooney played the role of stern traditionalist, Ian Wright stepped in as the voice of the terraces.
The former Arsenal striker took to X shortly after full-time, posting a video that felt like a direct answer to the “celebration police” he knew would surface.
“Arsenal fans, let me tell you something: enjoy this,” Wright said. “The celebration police will be out in force, do not get nicked! Enjoy yourselves, football's about moments and this is a big moment. Enjoy it. And let's hope that in the final and after the final, we have another massive moment. It's a great day, it's a great day!”
No caveats. No restraint. Wright spoke the language of supporters who have lived through the lean years and the near-misses, who remember 2006 in Paris and the pain of coming so close.
For them, simply getting back to a Champions League final, after two decades of false dawns and rebuilds, is a moment to savour.
Wenger strikes the balance
Somewhere between Rooney’s severity and Wright’s exuberance stood Arsene Wenger, the architect of Arsenal’s last Champions League final run.
Speaking on beIN Sports, Wenger accepted the emotion of the night but quickly turned his gaze forward. He has seen how quickly European joy can turn to regret.
“They celebrate well tonight – that is normal, but you want more for them to focus on the final already and the next game,” he said. “The celebration is deserved, happiness is absolutely normal, but now the next step is to go to the final and win it.”
That is the standard he set during his reign: enjoy the climb, but never mistake the summit.
His words carried the weight of history. Wenger knows exactly what it feels like to walk out for a Champions League final with Arsenal and leave empty-handed, as they did in 2005-06 against Barcelona. That 2-1 defeat in Paris still lingers in the club’s collective memory. This new group now has the chance to write a different ending.
Budapest awaits
Arteta’s side now stand 90 minutes from European immortality. The opponent will be brutal, whichever way the other semi-final breaks.
Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain await in Budapest. PSG carry a slender 5-4 lead into the second leg at the Allianz Arena, a tie as wild as the scoreline suggests. Arsenal will watch knowing that, for once, they are not the ones chasing the elite; they are right there with them.
The night at the Emirates ended with players and supporters locked in a shared roar, a club that has spent years trying to find its way back to this level finally seeing the path open in front of it.
Too much celebration? Try telling that to a fan base that has waited 20 years to feel this close to the biggest prize in European football again.
The fireworks have faded over London. The next explosion, if it comes, will be in Budapest.
