Arsenal advanced to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2009 with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Real Madrid, beating the reigning champions 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night.

The Gunners went to Spain with a shocking 3-0 advantage after last week’s win in London, but Real Madrid had dreams of a dramatic comeback, hardly unprecedented in the 15-time European champions’ history.

“I think it’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said after the win Wednesday. “There was a lot of talk coming in about them coming back from the dead, they’ve done it so many times before. But we had so much belief and confidence from that first leg that we had enough to come here and win the game.”

A scoreless first half saw Bukayo Saka’s early penalty kick saved by Thibaut Courtois and Real Madrid having a penalty decision overturned after a lengthy review. Just needing to hold the three-goal lead for 45 minutes, Arsenal broke through with a goal from Saka in the 65th that pushed the aggregate to 4-0 and silenced the crowd in Madrid.

Two minutes later, Vinícius Júnior scored off an Arsenal defensive error to reignite hopes of an even bigger comeback. But that was Real Madrid’s last score of the night, unable to find a way through.In stoppage time, Gabriel Martinelli slotted home a goal for good measure, beating Courtois on a breakaway to officially end the title-holders’ reign.

Down to the final four in Europe’s biggest club competition, Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in one semifinal, while Barcelona and Inter Milan meet in the other. The final is scheduled for May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Here’s how Wednesday night’s game unfolded:

Champions League semifinal schedule, bracket

Semifinal

dates

• Arsenal vs. PSG: April 30 in London, May 7 in Paris
• Barcelona vs. Inter Milan: April 30 in Barcelona, May 6 in Milan

Champions League final

• May 31 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany

Gabriel Martinelli goal gives Arsenal win on the night

With the tie all but decided heading into stoppage time, Gabriel Martinelli’s goal in the 93rd minute restored Arsenal’s four-goal aggregate advantage and gave the Gunners a 2-1 win in Madrid.

Bukayo Saka, Vinicius goals: Arsenal up 4-1 on aggregate

Bukayo Saka scored in the 65th minute to break the deadlock on the night and give Arsenal a 4-0 aggregate lead, slotting home after a sweeping team move and assistant from Mikel Merino.

Minutes later, Arsenal got sloppy at the back and Vinícius Júnior pounced on William Saliba’s error to score Madrid’s first goal of the tie – and ignite some home of a comeback just after all seemed lost.

64th minute: Real Madrid makes three substitutions

Needing to score three goals in the next half hour, Real Madrid made a triple substitution in the 60th minute.

Endrick, Fran Garcia and Dani Ceballos came on to replace Rodrygo, Lucas Vázquez and defender David Alaba, who was on a yellow card.

Second half begins: Arsenal leads 3-0 on aggregate

The second half is underway at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Arsenal needing to hang on to its 3-0 for just another 45 minutes. The Gunners are hoping to get back to the Champions League semifinal for the first time since 2009, with the winner of this tie set to face off against PSG.

Arsenal don’t appear to be parking the bus in the opening few minutes, but surely will tighten up as the half goes on.

Halftime: Scoreless in Madrid, Arsenal up 3-0 on aggregate

It was an eventful first half with Bukayo Saka missing a penalty kick and Real Madrid having a penalty decision overturned. After all that – and seven minutes of stoppage time – the game is scoreless, and Arsenal just need to hold their 3-0 aggregate lead for another 45 minutes to reach the semifinals.

Madrid has enjoyed 67% possession but failed to get a shot on target. Meanwhile, defenders David Alabama and Raul Asencio are both on yellow cards.

30th minute: Real Madrid penalty overturned

Declan Rice was ruled to have brought down Kylian Mbappe in the penalty area on the end of a cross, but after a long review and VAR check, the call was overturned. Rice was immediately adamant that he had committed no such foul and was initially handed a yellow card before the decision was reversed.

Scoreless in the 30th minute, with plenty of added time set to follow the first 45 minutes.

Penalty saved! Courtois denies Saka

After a VAR review on a corner kick awarded Arsenal a penalty, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibault Courtois stopped Bukayo Saka’s attempt to chip in the 13th minute to keep the game scoreless.

That’s a huge save from the Belgian, as an Arsenal goal may have put this tie out of reach.

Things remain 3-0 on aggregate.

Real Madrid vs. Arsenal underway at Bernabéu

Things are underway in Madrid, with Arsenal holding a 3-0 aggregate lead heading into this second leg.

Jakub Kiwior partners with William Saliba in defense for Arsenal, which lost Gabriel to injury weeks ago. The duo will have its hands full with Madrid’s attacking firepower after holding them scoreless in the first leg.

Real Madrid vs Arsenal lineups

Real Madrid

: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rüdiger, Alaba; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappé, Rodrygo.

Arsenal

: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Merino.

Real Madrid vs Arsenal first leg highlights

Arsenal ready to hold 3-0 lead

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called on his players to be brave and believe in themselves in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday, and deny the Spanish giants a comeback.

Arsenal go into the game with a 3-0 lead from the first leg in London after two superb goals from Declan Rice and another from Mikel Merino but Arteta said they were well aware that the holders and 15-times European champions were very capable of overturning the result at home.

“Our approach is to win it. The same as we did in London,” Arteta told a news conference on Tuesday.

“Real Madrid are going to try to take us places we don’t want to go. I understand it because it is part of their history and they have the right to be talking about these kinds of (comeback) scenarios.”

– Reuters

Bernabeu ‘magic’ key for Real Madrid

Real Madrid have won six Champions League titles since 2009 and made a habit of completing unlikely recoveries in the knockout stages of the competitions.

The Spanish heavyweights have overturned deficits against Paris St Germain, Manchester City and VfL Wolfsburg in recent years – with all three of those comebacks being staged in the iconic Bernabeu stadium.

“The Bernabeu has magic, everyone knows it’s a special atmosphere. Tomorrow we need a bit of everything, quality and a complete game in terms of physicality and collective attitude. Not one of these things can go wrong,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“(Games at the Bernabeu) are very important because the boost from the fans has helped us a lot. Tomorrow it will be the same, we need to play at our maximum level to try to change the tie. It’s very complicated at the moment, but tomorrow we’ll try to change that.”

– Reuters