Arsenal’s road to the Champions League semi-finals | OneFootball

As Arsenal prepare to face PSG in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009 we look at every step of the journey that took them there.

Over the last 15 years Arsenal have struggled to get themselves into the latter stages of the Champions League. They even spent six years failing to qualify for the competition until Mikel Arteta came along and restored them to Europe’s elite status once again. They were beaten quarter-finalists last season, when they lost to Bayern Munich, but have already improved on that run by reaching the last four in 2025. here is how they reached the semi-final stage…

The Gunners have travelled from Milan to Eindhoven to Madrid in this year’s Champions League run…

Matchday One: Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal’s first match in the Champions League this season ended in a scoreless draw in Bergamo. A David Raya double save from a penalty kept the Gunners in the game and earned them their first point in the league phase.

Matchday Two: Arsenal 2-0 PSG

Goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz meant Arsenal got their first win of the season in Europe. Both goals came in the first half and the French champions had no reply in the second half. Arsenal were dominant throughout and this win became a platform that they would build on.

Matchday Three: Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar Donestk

A Dmytro Riznyk own goal was all that separated Arsenal and Shakhtar Donestk in the end. Although the Gunners only won by one the Ukrainian side rarely troubled them as Arteta’s men extended their run of not conceding in the Champions League to three in a row.

Matchday Four: Inter 1-0 Arsenal

Arsenal’s second trip to Italy saw their first and only loss of the campaign so far. A contested Hakan Calhanoglu penalty was the difference between the sides but that does not tell the full story of the match. Arsenal created a hatful of chances in the second half and if not for goalkeeper Yann Sommer, the game could have ended differently.

Matchday Five: Sporting Lisbon 1-5 Arsenal

Arsenal bounced back from the Inter defeat in style back in Portugal as they ran rampant against Sporting Lisbon. The five goals came from five different goalscorers, whilst William Saliba and Gabriel Magahales snuffed out any threat from Victor Gyokeres.

Matchday Six: Arsenal 3-0 Monaco

Arsenal again were in stellar form at the Emirates as they put three past Monaco. Bukayo Saka was at the double as Arsenal looked to cement their place in the top eight qualifying positions.

Matchday Seven: Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb

Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard capped off an excellent display at the Emirates as Dinamo Zagreb had no answers to a dominant Gunners performance. The win left them third in the table with just one game to play.

Matchday Eight: Girona 1-2 Arsenal

When former Tottenham forward Arnaut Danjuma opened the scoring for Girona it looked like it could be a long day for Arsenal but a Jorginho penalty and a winner from teenager Ethan Nwaneri sealed another win and more importantly secured Arsenal’s sport in the round of 16 stage.

Round of 16: Arsenal 9-3 PSV Eindhoven

First leg: PSV 1-7 Arsenal

Second leg: Arsenal 2-2 PSV

Arsenal travelled to Eindhoven aiming to get to the Champions League quarter-finals for the second year on the spin. The Reds not only achieved that, but they made it look easy. Seven goals in the away leg meant the tie was wrapped up by the time PSV travelled to the Emirates and, despite the Dutch side managing to draw in London, Arsenal still won the tie by a healthy margin of six goals.

Quarter-final: Arsenal 5-1 Real Madrid

First leg: Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid

Second leg: Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal

In this year’s Champions league Arsenal have not only been winning matches, but winning them in style and the quarter-finals were no different. Getting past the champions of Europe looked to be a step too far for Arteta’s men before the game, but two stunning free kicks from Declan Rice and a goal from Mikel Merino meant Arsenal were taking a three goal lead to the Bernabeu.

A missed penalty from Saka in Spain may have increased the nerves amongst Arsenal fans but when the Englishman eventually did score it felt like Arsenal would be heading through. A mistake between David Raya and William Saliba meant Vinicius Jr. got one back but when Gabriel Martinelli ran clean through right at the death the ball hitting the back of the net felt almost inevitable.