Bukayo Saka’s goal sends Arsenal to Champions League final after 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid

That’s the end of our live blog, with Arsenal securing the ticket to the final with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. See you next time!

Arsenal punches their ticket to the Champions League final with a gritty 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid. Bukayo Saka’s first-half rebound proved the difference-maker as the Gunners held firm at the Emirates to secure their spot in Budapest.

Five minutes of stoppage time have been added.

Atletico missed a golden opportunity for an equalizer as Alex Baena teed up Alexander Sorloth, but the striker couldn't get a clean connection on the ball.

Leandro Trossard makes way for Gabriel Martinelli, as Arteta injects fresh pace to close out the final minutes.

Marc Pubill becomes the first player booked today, picking up a yellow card after tugging on Viktor Gyokeres' shirt to halt a dangerous Arsenal counterattack.

Despite Diego Simeone exhausting all five substitutions, Atletico Madrid is struggling to find a rhythm, as the fresh legs have failed to make any meaningful impact on a match firmly under Arsenal's control.

Miles Lewis-Skelly leaves the pitch replaced by Martin Zubimendi.

Lewis-Skelly drops to the ground and is medically assisted due to an injury.

Simeone decided to take Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez off the pitch to bring Alex Baena and Thiago Almada in.

Piero Hincapie delivered a pinpoint, weighted cross into the heart of the area, but Viktor Gyokeres couldn't provide the finishing touch as his first-time effort sailed high over the crossbar.

Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, and Riccardo Calafiori leave the pitch replaced by Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, and Piero Hincapie.

Coach Simeone changes the dinamic of the team with three subs: Johnny Cardoso, Alexander Sorloth, and Nahuel Molina in, Ademola Lookman, Giuliano Simeone, and Robin Le Normand out.

Antoine Griezmann carved out space inside the box and unleashed a stinging right-footed strike, but David Raya produced a spectacular save to keep Arsenal in front.

Atletico nearly leveled the score just before the break as Giuliano Simeone broke free behind the defense, but Gabriel produced a world-class recovery tackle to deny a clear look at goal and preserve the Arsenal lead.

Referee Daniel Siebert blows the whistle, and the second half is underway!

Arsenal are leading 1-0 against Atletico Madrid at the Emirates after a late goal from Saka.

Ben White split the defense with a clinical through ball to Viktor Gyokeres, who centered for Leandro Trossard. Jan Oblak denied Trossard’s initial effort with a sharp save, but Bukayo Saka was quickest to the rebound, slamming it home to give the Gunners the lead.

Despite a flurry of promising attacks from both sides, the match has turned into a tactical stalemate with neither Atletico nor Arsenal yet able to register a shot on target.

Frustrated by Atletico's compact defensive shape, Declan Rice attempted to spark the offense with two strikes from long range, but both efforts failed to find the target.

A fluid collective move from Atletico Madrid was cut short by a controversial offside call on Marcos Llorente, robbing the Spanish side of a clear opportunity to test David Raya.

Lewis-Skelly’s dangerous cross flashes across the face of the goal without finding a teammate.

After Atletico neutralized a cross from the right wing, the defense left the edge of the box momentarily unmarked. The ball fell to Gabriel, who settled it before unleashing a driven, diagonal shot that whistled just wide of the far post.

Arsenal's first chance came from a corner, but the English side is still uncapable for capitalizing the possession of the ball.

After a great movement down the right side, Simeone was unable to finish after a great block from Declan Rice, who saved Arsenal from conceding the opening goal.

Atletico nearly caught Arsenal's backline sleeping as Antoine Griezmann launched a perfectly weighted long ball to Giuliano Simeone. The winger squared a low cross for Julian Alvarez, but the striker’s first-time effort lacked composure, dragging the shot well wide of the target.

Atletico Madrid have settled into a compact 5-4-1 defensive block, clearly content to let Arsenal dictate the tempo. While the Gunners are controlling the ball, they have yet to find a way through Atletico's disciplined lines to create a clear scoring opportunity.

Referee Daniel Siebert blows his whistle, and the semifinal is underway!

Last week’s 1-1 draw in the first leg kept the all-time series between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal deadlocked. Across their European meetings, the two sides have each claimed one victory to go along with four draws.

The rivalry began in the 2017-18 Europa League semifinals, where Atletico proved to be the ultimate spoilers. Following a -1 draw at the Emirates Stadium, the Spanish side secured a narrow 1-0 win at home to advance to the final and eventually lift the trophy.

The Gunners' first victory in the series came during the current Champions League campaign this past October. In a dominant league phase performance at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta’s squad cruised to a 4-0 win, pulling even in the all-time series against the Spanish giants.

German official Daniel Siebert has been appointed to referee Tuesday's high-stakes Champions League semifinal second leg between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal boast a flawless 3-0 record in matches overseen by the German. In contrast, Atletico Madrid are winless in three attempts under Siebert (0-2-1), with their most recent encounter being a 3-2 loss to Tottenham in this year's Round of 16.

Match officials:

Referee: Daniel Siebert
1st Assistant: Jan Seidel
2nd Assistant: Rafael Foltyn
Fourth Official: Tobias Stieler
VAR: Bastian Dankert
VAR assistant: Robert Schröder

Martin Odegaard has been one of the stars of Arsenal over the last years, but injuries have limited his participation in the 2025-26 season. Despite announcing he was fit alongside Kai Havertz for the game, the Norwegian star has been excluded from the starting lineup against Atletico Madrid.

Excluded from the Fulham game due to his ongoing knee discomfort, coach Mikel Arteta included Odegaard in the subs bench, expected to perform as a super sub in the game at the Emirates.

A win at the Emirates would send Atletico to the Champions League final, but that is a feat few visiting sides have accomplished in recent years. Over their last 24 home matches in UEFA competitions, Arsenal has suffered just a single defeat, racking up 17 wins and six draws in that span.

Furthermore, the Gunners remain unbeaten in the current Champions League campaign. Their dominant run to the semifinals includes 10 wins and three draws, making the Emirates one of the most intimidating environments in European soccer.

Diego Simeone announced the starting lineup to look for the win at the Emirates Stadium (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Marc Pubill, Robin Le Normand, David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri; Giuliano Simeone, Marcos Llorente, Koke, Ademola Lookman; Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez.

Miklel Arteta confirmed the starting players that'll be looking for the ticket to the Champions League final (4-3-3): David Raya; Benjamin White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Eberechi Eze, Miles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard.

The game between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid will kick off at 3 PM (ET).

You can watch the UEFA Champions League live on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Paramount+, Hulu + Live TV, CBS, Univision, TUDN and ViX.

Welcome to our live blog for the second leg of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League semifinals between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. Stay with us for key updates and live minute-by-minute coverage!