The last time Arsenal played in the Champions League semi-finals | OneFootball

Arsenal have reached this campaign’s Champions League semi-finals after defeating Real Madrid 5–1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

The last time the Gunners appeared in the semi-finals of the competition was over a decade ago during the 2008/09 season.

Arsène Wenger’s North Londoners faced Sir Alex Ferguson’s indomitable Manchester United who were not to be taken lightly as the current holders of the tournament.

The Gunners made the nearly four-hour journey to Old Trafford for the first 90 minutes of the tie after having bamboozled Villarreal in the quarter-finals 4–1 over both legs.

Wenger’s side proved timid at the home of the Red Devils, failing to make an impression on the game in a ghost performance.

United were all over the Gunners, who lacked firepower and were fortunate not to be thrashed in the end.

John O’Shea scored the only goal of the game early on for Manchester United from close range, beating Manuel Almunia, who had no chance of stopping the Irishman with his lethality from inside the area.

The Spaniard in goal saved Arsenal’s day, denying Ferguson’s side left, right and centre.

United were unlucky not to win by two goals after Ryan Giggs came onto the field and had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half while making his 800th appearance for the club.

After losing 1–0 at the “Stadium of Dreams”, Wenger admitted his Gunners did not help themselves in their display after losing it in the first half.

The Frenchman told MailOnline: “It’s disappointing to lose the game in the way we lost it because I felt we were a bit nervous at the start of the game and didn’t play our game.

“We gave them a little bit comfort by making a mistake on the first set piece or the second, and after that we lost too many balls and rushed our game in the first half.

“We didn’t find the opportunity to equalise,” Wenger said, which summed up Arsenal’s performance for the night.

Everyone associated with the red side of North London hoped the Gunners could overturn their narrow deficit at home in the final leg, which would surely go in their favour, but only time would tell.

However, the Arsenal slipped up early on and conceded the first goal of the encounter within the first ten minutes to Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo slid the ball from the left side of the box over to Ji-sung Park in the centre, who tucked the ball into the back of the net with ease, witnessing a young Kieran Gibbs slip up in the process between the two Red Devils, failing in his attempt to block the low cross.

Within only three minutes, the battle was finished for Arsenal. Ronaldo excellently fired in a free-kick from far outside the box, finding the near post of Almunia’s goal.

Just after the hour mark, Ronaldo doubled his goal tally for the night, quadrupling United’s lead on aggregate. Wayne Rooney sent a low cross to the Portuguese, who fired his shot into the top of the goal from inside the box mercilessly.

The Gunners managed to pull one back ten minutes later with Van Persie beating Edwin van der Sar from the spot, but by that point it was too late and Arsenal had been soul-destroyed 3–1 at the Emirates and 4–1 overall.

The Arsenal’s hopes and dreams of Champions League glory had come to an end on home turf for the season.

After Wenger’s side crashed out of the competition with little fight, he told The Guardian it was the right thing to have happened: “Manchester United, I have to say over the two games, deserve to go through.

“The tie could have been over in the first leg and, even though I felt we had a good chance to come back tonight they were the better side.”

The days of talking about Arsenal winning the Champions League are a distant memory for many Gooners until recently.

Will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal now go one better with PSG yet to play in the 2024/25 Champions League semi-finals?

Liam Harding