Arsenal in the Champions League Final — Is Arteta Elite?

Eleven wins, three draws, zero defeats. Arsenal are in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years. Here's why that matters.

Arsenal Are in the Champions League Final and Nobody Should Be Surprised

Arsenal are in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years and the scary part is they made it look routine.

One-nil at the Emirates. Saka with the goal. Atletico with nothing. 

Two-one on aggregate and a ticket to Budapest. This wasn't a backs-against-the-wall, hanging-on-for-dear-life job. 

This was a team that controlled a Champions League semi-final from start to finish against one of the most cynical, experienced sides in European football and barely broke a sweat doing it. 

Arteta called it "one of the best nights of my career." 

Simeone called Arsenal's financial power "significant."  

Simeone knows his team got outclassed and he's blaming the chequebook because he can't blame the performance.

Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 44th minute of the match. 

Trossard did the hard work, brought down a cross in the box, stayed composed, found his angle, and forced the shot. 

Oblak could only parry it straight into the path of Arsenal captain Bukayo Saka, who stayed onside, stayed sharp, and finished it

The perfect moment to score against a Simeone side, because Atletico's entire gameplan depends on taking a lead and sitting on it. 

Watch the match highlights: Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid

When they have to chase, they look like a completely different team. 

Griezmann was anonymous. Alvarez couldn't get on the ball. 

Koke ran around a lot and achieved nothing. 

In the second half, Atletico threw on Sorloth, Almada, Baena, Cardoso, Simeone used all five subs and still couldn't create a single clear chance worth talking about. 

Atletico's total expected goals across the 90 minutes? 0.5. Half a goal. Against a side that had Myles Lewis-Skelly, a teenager, running midfield.

Speaking of Lewis-Skelly , what a performance. 

Started in central midfield in a Champions League semi-final at 19 years old, and didn't put a foot wrong until he picked up a knock and was replaced by Zubimendi. 

Arteta admitted afterwards that picking the team was agony, "I don't know how many lineups I did on my iPad. I deleted them and started again." 

But the bold calls worked. Calafiori at left-back gave Arsenal an extra dimension going forward. 

Eze drifted between the lines and made Atletico's midfield look old. 

Rice was immense, the block on Giuliano Simeone in the first half was worth more than most goals.

The one frustration? Gyokeres. 

Hincapie delivered a perfect cross in the second half, the kind strikers dream about, and the Swede volleyed it over the bar from six yards out. 

A proper number nine buries that. 

He's been brilliant this season but that miss could have made the last 20 minutes far more comfortable. 

If Arsenal are going to win this final, and they should be favourites against whoever comes out of Bayern vs PSG, Gyokeres needs to be clinical when it matters. 

One chance, one goal. That's the difference between finalists and champions.

Two denied Atletico penalty shouts in the second half will generate noise, but Simeone himself refused to make excuses. "If we got knocked out, it's because our opponent deserved to get through," he said. 

Credit where it's due, the man who usually turns every post-match press conference into a war crimes tribunal was gracious in defeat. 

He knows Arsenal were better. Everyone knows Arsenal were better.

So what does this mean for the bigger picture? 

Arsenal are unbeaten in the Champions League this season, 11 wins, three draws, 14 games without a loss. 

That's the longest unbeaten run in the competition's history for the Gunners, beating their 2005-06 record. 

They're five points clear in the Premier League with four games left. 

They're in the Champions League final. 

They could genuinely win the Double , and not the League Cup kind. The real one. 

If you backed Arsenal to win the Champions League at the start of the season, you might want to check your odds, they're shortening by the hour.

Arteta said the atmosphere at the Emirates was "something else, something different, something that elevates everybody." He's right. 

But atmosphere doesn't win you European Cups. Tactical discipline does. Defensive structure does. 

Having a squad deep enough to rest Odegaard, Madueke, and Havertz for a Champions League semi-final and still win comfortably, that does. 

This Arsenal side isn't just good. They're built for exactly this kind of night.

Budapest awaits. Bayern or PSG will be waiting. 

And for the first time in 20 years, Arsenal aren't just making up the numbers, they're going there to win it. 

Still think Arteta isn't elite?