Declan Rice said there was no doubt in Rice’s mind that Arsenal would finish the job against Atletico Madrid once Bukayo Saka struck, as a 1-0 second-leg victory at Emirates Stadium secured a 2-1 aggregate success and sent Mikel Arteta’s side into the Champions League final for the first time since 2006.
Saka scored just before half-time in north London, and Arsenal then controlled the second period against Diego Simeone’s team, with the atmosphere inside Emirates Stadium intense throughout as the hosts protected the narrow lead that moved Arsenal within one match of a first European Cup triumph.
The meeting with Atletico Madrid also marked Rice’s 400th club appearance in all competitions, with 245 matches for West Ham and 155 for Arsenal, and Rice played
a central role, as only William Saliba, with 77, had more touches than Rice’s 75, while Rice completed a game-high 56 passes and won five of seven duels.
| Player / Team metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Declan Rice club appearances | 400 (245 West Ham, 155 Arsenal) |
| Touches vs Atletico Madrid – William Saliba | 77 |
| Touches vs Atletico Madrid – Declan Rice | 75 |
| Declan Rice completed passes vs Atletico Madrid | 56 |
| Declan Rice duels won vs Atletico Madrid | 5 of 7 |
"It's chaos [in the dressing room], he told Amazon Prime. I don't think you can underestimate what weve done in this competition up to this point. We have every right to celebrate that moment, it' ssuch a big moment, a Champions League final, the most prestigious tournament in club football. We're trying to soak it all in. We knew coming in what was at stake. If you can't get up for that, you can't get up for any game of football. The fans spurred us on and once we went 1-0 up, I knew we were going to win, I just felt it. Once you feel something special building, it's such a good moment to be out here. "
𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝟏-𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐝 (2-1 agg) Arsenal. Champions League finalists. Mikel Arteta takes Arsenal to their first UCL final for 20 years. Here's how they did it. https://t.co/3yhJ4HKgGM pic.twitter.com/jb9EkoJDS7Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) May 5, 2026
Across all competitions this season, Arsenal have now reached 41 victories, matching the club’s single-season record set in the 1970-71 campaign, and the latest success came during a productive spell, as Manchester City dropped points in the Premier League title race on Monday, leaving Arsenal needing three wins to secure the domestic crown before facing either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in Budapest on 30 May.
The current position contrasts sharply with the mood after recent defeats against Bournemouth and Manchester City, when Arsenal’s campaign appeared to be unravelling, and Rice reflected on how the squad responded to those setbacks and to exits from domestic cup competitions, which Rice felt had shaped the team’s mentality.
"What we've been buildingthose narrow losses in the Premier League, going out of cup competitions, things that hurt you as a player, Rice added. The managerkept full control. We've kept building, kept adding quality to the squad, we've kept pushing each other, in this competition and the Premier League, we've gone full throttle and we find ourselves in this competition with a month to go. So it's all to play for, we've got to stay composed and focused. I know what this team'scapable of. After that Man City game, it wasn't a title-defining gameit wasn't done. It wasn't a moment to be down, we had to realise there were still five games [left], we had to keep pushing. "
Defensively, Arsenal produced another strong display against Atletico Madrid, registering a 30th clean sheet in all competitions this season, matching the club’s highest total since 1993-94, also 30, and representing the best figure for any Premier League club since Liverpool finished with 32 in the 2021-22 season.
| Arsenal defensive and Arsenal Champions League records 2025-26 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Clean sheets in all competitions | 30 |
| Previous Arsenal season with 30 clean sheets | 1993-94 |
| Most clean sheets by Premier League club since | Liverpool 2021-22 (32) |
| Current unbeaten run in European Cup / Champions League | 14 matches |
| Previous Arsenal European unbeaten record | 13 matches (March 2005 – April 2006) |
That shutout also extended Arsenal’s longest ever unbeaten sequence in the European Cup or Champions League to 14 matches, moving beyond the previous record run of 13 games, which stretched from March 2005 to April 2006 and included the club’s last appearance in the final of the competition.
"It's an amazing night, to live these moments is an incredible feeling, Arteta told Amazon Prime. It makes it all make sense, all the things we go through. It was unbelievable right from the beginning [from the supporters], the energy, the passion, it was great to witness. They set the standards and we tried to catch up with them. Those are the twists and turns of elite sport and football in particular. You have to be at it, you never know what the next moment is going to bring to you. "
Arteta, who is 44 years and 65 days old, will become the second-youngest manager to lead Arsenal in a major European final, after Terry Neill, who was 38 years and six days when guiding the team in the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup, and Arsenal now prepare for a Champions League final in Budapest while also chasing the Premier League title with three decisive league fixtures remaining.
