Arsenal's Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid sees biggest-ever surge in Virgin Media O2's traffic | OneFootball

The Gunners beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in north London on Tuesday to reach the Champions League final

Virgin Media O2 saw the biggest broadband traffic spike in its history as millions watched Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.

The Gunners beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in north London to secure a 2-1 aggregate win and ensure they will be in Budapest later this month to face Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka scored what proved to be the winner just before half-time, turning in from close range after Leandro Trossard's effort was parried out.

The streets were lined to welcome the team coach to the bus two hours ahead of the match starting and it was then at fever-pitch throughout.

Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly on Tuesday night

Getty Images

"It's an incredible night, we made history again together," Arteta said.

"I cannot be happier, prouder for everybody that's involved in this football club. The manner that we received outside the stadium was special and unique.”

Peak downstream traffic was up 17 per cent on an average Tuesday evening, making it the highest traffic event ever recorded on Virgin Media’s broadband network.

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game as the Gunners progressed

Getty Images

That figure was 4.2 per cent higher than the previous peak set during Liverpool’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid last November.

Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “Live sport is one of the biggest drivers of broadband traffic in the UK and last night’s Champions League semi-final set a record on our network.

“As more people stream the biggest sporting moments from home, reliable, high-capacity connectivity has never been more important.”