captain Lucas Vazquez claimed that "did almost nothing" during the first half at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night. The Gunners for the first time since 2009 with an emphatic 5-1 aggregate victory, finishing the second leg with a historic 2-1 triumph over Real. They had led 3-0 from the first leg with Declan Rice's free-kicks and Mikel Merino's finish handing them a strong advantage.

Mikel Arteta's side aimed to subdue the Bernabeu atmosphere and ensured a low-key first 45 minutes, marked only by two penalty decisions. One was missed by Bukayo Saka, saved by Thibaut Courtois, while the other saw a Real penalty overturned after a lengthy VAR review following Kylian Mbappe's fall under Rice's challenge. Saka rectified his error in the second half with a chip over Courtois from Rice's pass. Despite Vinicius Junior scoring after William Saliba's error, Real failed to gain momentum.

Gabriel Martinelli sealed Arsenal's win in both legs, sprinting past the defence in the 93rd minute and coolly slotting the ball into the corner to book passage into the final four.

Rice called it a "historic night for the club" in his post-match interview, praising Arsenal's discipline and mentality. However, Real skipper Vazquez, who captained the team for most of the night, had a differing opinion.

He reacted "It's a difficult moment. I think we tried today. It was a complicated match. We didn't have all the chances we would have liked.

"Maybe we lacked more clarity. More patience. They came to defend, to play their role. In the first half, they did almost nothing. In the second, with the team pressing, they found the victory.

"Thank you for the atmosphere you created. Real Madrid will always return. Not everything is lost. There is a lot of season left. The team is united and eager to achieve what's left."

Meanwhile, when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked if he'd ever been prouder of his players, he replied: "Probably not. Not only because we're in the semi-final for the third time in our history now, but also because of the way we did it.

"Not only because of the way we played, but also because of the circumstances, the amount of injuries we had. That shows the character of this team, of this club, and it's a night to be very proud of."