As the game at the Bernabeu got into gear, and Real Madrid so struggled to open Arsenal in play, they tried to get at them in a different way. They tried to get into their heads, by getting right in their faces. It was a clear tactic, with Bukayo Saka especially targeted. David Alaba went in on him after four minutes. Jude Bellingham had words for Saka before his missed penalty. Dani Carvajal then tried to goad him after it.
Saka simply rose above it by lifting the ball over Thibaut Courtois for the key goal. That happened, however, because Arsenal stood their ground – and then stood up.
It was perhaps the greatest significance of this tie, beyond Arsenal’s comprehensive victory over two legs. Few would now question their fortitude. No one should be talking about them as a fragile team, or one lacking experience. They are going to be a hard and strong test for anyone.
They stepped up on the grandest stage of all. That is a direct consequence of how Mikel Arteta has gradually honed the psychology of this team.
“The feeling that we have is a reality,” Arteta said. This was why David Raya was talking of being “super convinced”. They weren’t just words. Arteta praised “the manner and the way we did it”.
“Not only by the way we played, but also with the circumstances, the amount of injuries that we had. So I think overall, I think it shows the character of this team, of this club.”
The performance was all the more impressive given a surprising admission that Arteta made, that he perhaps wouldn’t have said had they lost. The aura of the Bernabeu did get to them, even if Madrid couldn’t.
“It was my first time as a coach in that dugout and today I realised after three minutes that, in this stadium, anything is possible,” Arteta revealed. “They are the specialists of creating such chaos, such a belief, and it’s very difficult to understand really what’s going on in the game and have certainty about how we control it.”
It can feel very out of control when Vinicius Junior is suddenly cutting in from the left at pace. That’s when the aura becomes a reality, as Myles Lewis-Skelly touched upon.
“Honestly, when you see it on TV, it’s a lot different to when you come live. So, when I first walked out, it’s a lot, but you’ve just got to take in the moment and have fun.”
The words are conspicuous because they so perfectly echoed Arteta’s comments, and how you have to “enjoy” such moments.
That can admittedly be difficult when you are suddenly aware of exactly how one moment can set off a chain reaction, as has happened in this stadium in the past. Arteta expanded on how exactly they took “control”, if with some exclamation.
“We have certain tools to try to do that. But actually, to do it when it’s live, you realise how bloody difficult it is.
“But I think we’ve done it and we’ve done it in many moments in a really clever way. Because the game can drive you to a scenario that goes against them, they are not good at all. And we were very clear on how we had to get out of that and we managed to do it.”
Arteta and his staff had deeply researched what happens in the minutes after key moments in the Bernabeu, and tried to work through it rationally. It was why his chats with Pep Guardiola, having had another on the morning of the game, were so helpful. Arteta gave his players “an island” for any situation, something they could hold onto to keep the game in their grasp.
You still need to seize it. Declan Rice did that.
If Saka offered the moment, the midfielder offered the performance. This was career stuff, the type of night when a player goes to another level. Arteta spoke of how Rice had been “decisive in the tie” but this time “in a different way”. It was in every way.
If the story of the game was Arsenal standing up, Rice personified it. Except, that never meant actually standing still. He was immediately onto the next challenge, winning the ball, then driving it forward. He was everywhere.
“I think it was immense,” Arteta said. “His presence, the power that he showed, how composed he was. Without the ball, I think he led the team in many moments and turned the game in our favour.”
This was often literal. There were more than a few moments when Madrid suggested an attack, or that they were about to break through, and Rice forced it back in the other direction. It was so much more than stopping things. Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield couldn’t handle him.
Madrid chose the wrong team to pick a fight given Rice was there.
There was also the enjoyment that Arteta spoke of.
The manager even laughed about how he felt like giving Saka a “clip around the ear” about the missed penalty in the Spanish section of his press conference.
Madrid couldn’t get close to them. Arsenal were able to withstand them physically and, crucially, psychologically.
