What we're covering here
• Arsenal holding on: Bukayo Saka scored the opening goal to give Arsenal the edge as it tries to earn its first berth in a Champions League final since 2006. The Gunners are holding onto the slim 1-0 lead with just minutes to go.
• What happened last week: There were three flashpoints, all involving penalties. Two were scored – the first by Viktor Gyökeres in the first half for Arsenal and the second was smashed in by Julián Álvarez for Atleti. Late in the game, a second penalty for Arsenal was overturned by VAR.
• What’s at stake: Neither club has won the European Cup, though both have made the final before. The Colchoneros have reached the final three times (1974, 2014 and 2016) and the London club did it once (2006).
• Cobertura en directo en español: sigue toda nuestra cobertura de las semifinales de la Liga de Campeones en CNN en Español.
Nails being bitten, fingers being crossed at the Emirates
Arsenal is in touching distance of an era-defining final and you can feel the palpable sense of anxiety inside the Emirates Stadium.
The home fans are gritting teeth, biting finger nails, praying inside … some can’t even watch as the clock continues to tick down to 90 minutes.
We can expect several minutes of time added on thanks to the flurry of substitutions this half.
It’s been far from pretty but but so far, so good for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Viktor Gyökeres will be a huge threat as the game opens up
As Atletico Madrid pushes for a goal here, there will be plenty of space and opportunity for Arsenal to get another – and the play is mostly in the Atléti end right now.
Viktor Gyökeres is going to be the main threat, with the striker being left against just one defender at times.
If Arsenal transition the ball quickly enough, the Swedish striker could have the chance to put this game to bed early.
Atléti going direct in search for equalizer
The game plan for Atlético is now pretty straightforward: Get the ball out wide, get it into the box and hope Alex Sørloth makes meaningful contact.
The Norwegian is now leading the line for the Madrid outfit but has so far been starved of chances as Arsenal’s resolute defense continues to hold firm.
The Emirates crowd is roaring on the home team to keep up the intensity and press. It’s working – Marc Pubill just received a yellow card for a foul that may have prevented another Arsenal goal-scoring chance.
We’re into the final 10 minutes of normal time.
PSG and Bayern Munich won't mind what they're watching
All that matters for Arsenal and Atletico here is the result, neither will mind how they reach the final.
Saying that, both PSG and Bayern (on the other side of the draw and playing tomorrow) will be feeling confident they can beat whoever goes through here.
Neither Arsenal nor Atléti has been particularly inspiring today and the quality of the match has been far lower than the other semifinal first leg.
You’d think whoever goes through would be underdogs in the final.
Both sides pushing for a goal
As we approach the last quarter of this game, the cracks are starting to open up.
Arsenal is still pressing, reluctant to sit back and trying to put as much pressure on this Atléti defense as they seek an all important second goal.
Diego Simeone too is throwing the kitchen sink with two more substitutions of his own.
On come Alex Baena and Thiago Almada for Julián Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.
That just might have been the last time we see the Frenchman on the Champions League stage.
Golden chance for Gyökeres
We’ve just been singing the praises of Viktor Gyökeres and the striker has missed a golden opportunity to put daylight between Arsenal and Atléti.
A wonderful in-swinging cross in from the left-hand side from Miles Lewis-Skelly was met by the Swede but instead of keeping it low he blasted it high above Jan Oblak’s goal.
Could that come back to bite the Gunners?
Under 30 minutes to go and it's anyone's game
Arsenal may be ahead in this tie but with less than 30 minutes to play it’s still very much anyone’s game.
Atléti has shown more promise and threat in the attacking areas but Arsenal’s defense has remained resolute.
Diego Simeone is urging his his players on from the sidelines in contrast to his counterpart Mikel Arteta who is cutting a calm figure.
Who can hold their nerve to stamp their ticket to Budapest?
An impactful performance for Bukayo Saka
Arsenal’s star man Bukayo Saka has been taken off by his manager and the winger was given a huge round of applause from the Emirates Stadium.
As it stands, he’s the reason Arsenal is on track for its first Champions League final in 20 years. That goal is exactly why fans have been desperate for him to get back to his best. It wasn’t anything special. But it was clinical.
He’s replaced by Martin Ødegaard who starts quickly, whipping a long-range effort just over the bar.
Atléti building up a head of steam
Whatever Diego Simeone said to his team at halftime is working a treat.
The pace, intent and directness from the Atléti players is almost unrecognizable from the first half.
Shortly after having that penalty appeal waved away, Antoine Griezmann had a fierce shot punched away by David Raya. A scramble for the rebound results in a foul and Arsenal has a free kick to escape the danger.
And Simeone has played his first hand making a triple substitution; off come Lookman, Simeone and Le Normad and on come Molina, Cardoso and Sørloth.
Arsenal has just responded with three changes of their own.
Goalscorer Saka is one of the players to go off. Will his strike be the difference between the two sides at full-time?
Arsenal needs to avoid a repeat of the first leg
This is a very familiar situation for Arsenal, which also led the first leg by one goal after the first half.
In Spain, Atlético came back strongly and enjoyed their best period of play after the break, going on to eventually draw level.
Arsenal needs to avoid a repeat of that and stay on top here. They just had a huge reminder there.
Penalty appeal waved away for Atléti
If Arsenal needed a reminder that this game is far from over … well, they’ve just had one.
A simple ball over the top found Giuliano Simeone who made a brilliant run to get himself past David Raya, but there was Gabriel to make a crucial challenge to prevent what would have surely been a goal.
The Atléti threat is building – they’re quicker on the ball and far more direct than they were in the first half.
Gyökeres causing headaches for Atléti defense
It’s taken a while for Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres to find his groove in North London but his excellent form in the last few weeks is showing again this evening … and the Atléti defenders are not enjoying one single bit of it.
The Swede is doing all the hard work up front – running the channels, showing his speed and strength and he did for the goal and causing constant danger for the Atléti centre backs.
How important could he be the further we get into this second half?
The second half is underway
And we are back underway in the second half as just 45 minutes – and 11 men from Atlético Madrid – separates Arsenal from their first Champions League final in 20 years.
The Gunners will be thrilled with how that first half ended and there were only a few moments of bother for goalkeeper David Raya, and manager Mikel Arteta will be hoping for much more of the same.
But if there’s one thing that Diego Simeone will have imparted onto his players in the halftime locker room, it’s the intensity and desperation the moment calls for. Don’t expect Atléti to go quietly into the North London night.
Star boy Saka delivers
Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Bukayo Saka.
The forward has been part of Arsenal’s fabric since joining the club’s academy at the age of eight and perhaps hasn’t scored a more important goal for them than that one to end the half.
Saka and head coach Mikel Arteta’s first and only major trophy to date with the club was the FA Cup win in 2020, but as the winger told CNN’s Amanda Davies earlier this year, “When you taste that victory, you just want to do it again and again and again.”
His goal at the break could be sending the Gunners to their first Champions League final in 20 years.
You can read more about what has shaped the forward’s career on and off the pitch in our exclusive interview with him here.
Or if you’re more of a watcher then scroll to the top of the page to see the whole interview.
Arsenal scores! It's 1-0 as the first half comes to an end
There’s that man – Bukayo Saka turns in a rebound to open the scoring and put Arsenal up 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.
A through ball from defender William Saliba is deflected by an Atléti defender and runs on for Viktor Gyökeres, who keeps things under control as Madrid keeper Jan Oblak charges out to try and cut off play.
Gyökeres eventually whips across the box to Leandro Trossard, who controls the ball and fires in a shot at a scrambling Oblak, who makes a diving save but the ball falls straight to Saka in the six-yard box. The Englishman coolly turns it into the open net.
Wild celebrations at the Emirates Stadium as the hosts take the lead in the match and in the tie.
The whistle blows for halftime not long after the celebrations die down and it’s a dream situation for Mikel Arteta and the Gunners at the break.
Arsenal piling on the pressure as the first half winds down
Arsenal is starting to press for the opener, twisting the screw on Atlético Madrid as the first half nears its end.
A couple of penalty shouts from the Arsenal fans go unheeded by the referee – first a tackle by Antoine Griezmann on Leandro Trossard, but the ref waves away the appeals. Later, a Declan Rice shot deflects off an Atléti defender and there’s a shout for handball but the ball clearly struck the player’s chest.
But for the first time in this game, Arsenal is consistently on the attack in the waning moments of the first half and putting the Atlético defense under pressure. But they’re all for it – even Griezmann is all the way back on his own touchline defending with his heart.
Both Arsenal and Atlético have had their opportunities in the first half here but this match remains tight and there’s nothing to separate the clubs just yet – a rinse-and-repeat of the semifinal ties as a whole so far.
A game of few chances
Ahead of this tie, two-time European champion Ruud Gullit told CNN that this matchup could be decided by one moment.
Based on the evidence so far he may well be right.
There are very few openings in this game with both sides defenses on top.
Can anyone find the breakthrough before halftime?
Simeone's game plan is working... so far
Thirty minutes in and Diego Simeone will be delighted with the game plan so far.
Aside from the occasional threat posed by Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, the Atléti defense is so far holding firm.
Most of Atléti’s threat is coming down their right wing in the shape of Marcos Llorente but so far the end product has been lacking.
Simone called for intensity before the game and his players are giving him that and some more.
The Emirates crowd is quiet and that’s exactly what will be music to the Argentine’s ears.
Declan Rice is trying to force the issue as Arsenal push for opener
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice just made a lung-busting run down the left wing before his cross was cleared by the Atléti defense.
It was great work from the Englishman who has been a driving force for his team in the opening 25 minutes.
His teammates seem to have taken inspiration as well, with Myles Lewis-Skelly doing something very similar moments later. The youngster whipped his pass across the goal but no one was at the back post to tap in.
Atléti not lacking in firepower as they look to break the deadlock
For all the talk of Atlético boasting a miserly defense, they’ve got genuine firepower in the forward areas.
Only Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have scored more goals than them in this season’s competition, which tells you a lot.
Outside of Griezmann and Alvarez, Nigeria international Ademola Lookman and Marcos Llorente provide real threats down the wings.
The Arsenal back four will have to be on high alert but so far they’ve done a good job in keeping the door shut.
