Arsenal are heading to their first Champions League final in 20 years after beating Atletico Madrid to reach the showcase in Budapest where they will meet Paris Saint-Germain on the 30thMay, after the Parisians saw off Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Arsenal’s clash with Atletico was on a knife-edge after they played out a 1-1 draw in Madrid and they put in another superb defensive display to keep Los Rojiblancos at bay, and a goal from the returned Bukayo Saka was enough to see the Gunners through with a 2-1 aggregate. Mikel Arteta’s team saw out the win without too many scares but Diego Simeone’s side certainly had the chances to go through, with a couple of huge opportunities.
Giuliano Simeone looked nailed on to put Los Rojiblancos in front in the first half but an incredible last ditch tackle from Declan Rice saved the hosts; and then the Emirates Stadium erupted when Saka was the first to react, slamming the ball home after Leandro Trossard’s fierce shot had been parried by Atleti keeper Jan Oblak.
Atletico were always in the game and Simeone came close again but this time it was centre half Gabriel who saved a certain goal with a brilliantly timed tackle. At the other end of the pitch the in-form Viktor Gyokeres ran his socks off and almost doubled Arsenal’s lead when he met Piero Hincapie’s low cross, but his first time effort flew over the bar.
Saka’s return has been a real boost to the Gunners at the perfect time, and he gives the creative unit that extra splash of quality while the Arsenal defence has gone from strength to strength. The clean sheet against Atleti was Arsenal’s ninth in 14 European games and their 30th of the season in all competitions. Arteta was jubilant, sprinting onto the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate with his players and saying: “It’s an incredible night. We made history again together. I cannot be happier or prouder of everyone involved in this club.” And the Arsenal boss has good reason to be proud. Arsenal have equalled their club record for wins in a season at 41 and, with three league games still to play that record is sure to topple, and they are on their longest unbeaten run in the Champions League, currently on 14 and aiming for 15.
Now the Gunners turn their attention to the Premier League as they attempt to win their first domestic league title in 22 years. Arsenal’s double dream is alive and kicking and, here at SBOTOP we’ll be right across all the action as it unfolds…in England and in Budapest.
PSG are the toast of France
On Wednesday night it was the turn of 2025 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich who met at the Allianz Arena in Munich with the Parisians already 5-4 ahead after the first leg. There had been enough Champions League 2026 highlights in the first leg to fill more than 180 minutes, but this was a much more subdued affair settled by a 1-1 draw, though Bayern’s goal came with just seconds left.
Bayern warmed up for this clash with a 3-3 draw with bottom club Heidenheim when they once again launched a remarkable comeback, recovering from 3-0 down, after clawing back from a 5-2 deficit to be trailing 5-4 in Paris.
But the Ligue 1 leaders set off at breathtaking pace and were ahead on the night with just three minutes on the clock. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who had the Bayern defence running in circles all night was the architect as he latched onto a ball from Fabian Ruiz and drove forward before squaring for Ousmane Dembele to blast the ball into the roof of the net.
From that moment on it looked like there would only be one winner as the French side stroked the ball around at will and they could have extended their lead, Manuel Neuer making a brilliant save to deny Joao Neves and both Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue had golden chances to score.
But Bayern had little to offer until it was far too late when Harry Kane, who had been kept quiet all night, found space to score four minutes into stoppage time and that was the last meaningful action of the night.
Luis Enrique’s PSG is the first French team to make the Champions League final three times and the Champions League 2026 betting odds say they are favourites to retain their European crown. But they meet a worthy opponent in the Gunners, who are aiming to lift the trophy for the first time in their history having been beaten by Barcelona in their only previous final appearance in 2006.
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