Bukayo Saka's finish on the stroke of half-time helped ensure Arsenal will play in the Champions League final for the first time since 2006 following a tense evening in north London.

Mikel Arteta's men dominated the early passages of play, but it was the visitors who carved out the opening opportunity with Julián Alvarez sweeping wide from a Giuliano Simeone cross via a swift attack eight minutes in.

With the Gunners forced to resort to long-range efforts for much of the first half, the hosts found a breakthrough with the interval approaching. Viktor Gyökeres expertly picked out Leandro Trossard in space to the left of the penalty spot, and the Belgian attacker somehow created the angle to get his shot away in the crowded area. When Jan Oblak could only parry the strike, Bukayo Saka was quickest to turn in the rebound.

Atleti began the second period in purposeful fashion, Antoine Griezmann forcing David Raya into a smart stop with a crisp drive 11 minutes after the restart.

Both teams made triple substitutions shortly before the hour and it was Arsenal's changes that almost put the game beyond doubt. Captain Martin Ødegaard curled over almost immediately after his introduction and fellow replacement Piero Hincapié set up Gyökeres with a pinpoint delivery, but the striker was unable to keep his first-time effort down.

The Londoners, aiming to register a 30th clean sheet of the campaign across all competitions, restricted their opponents to few clear-cut openings in the closing stages to ensure they claimed their place in the Budapest final later this month. (uefa.com, excluding headline)

Update news