Inter progress to UCL final after another classic against Barca | Arsenal to 'make history' in Paris | Saudi interest in Bruno Fernandes?
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Teddy Draper and joining me are the athletics football correspondent David Ornstein and the Daily Mail's chief sports feature writer, Riaf Al-Samourai. Welcome to you both.

Let's get into this debate after a breathless encounter at the San Siro. Inter threw 7-6 on aggregate, 4-3 on the night. Mike McGrath writing in the Telegraph, Riyadh, says five reasons this is the greatest Champions League tie ever. I appreciate it. Very recent, very fresh in the mind, but do you agree?

Love to play the very miserable role here and start rolling off other matches. But I just, I don't have the energy or the heart to do that right now. It was outstanding. Um, the two legs, I mean, even, you know, last week, I didn't think they were going to be able to top that. I thought, um,

I thought tactics would kick in. I thought it would become cagey, close, too much at stake. And it wasn't that. It was just chaos. It was...

It was fantastic. I don't want to minimize what Inzaghi's done there with Inter by saying that it was chaos because clearly they had an excellent, excellent game plan, which was also reliant on not getting punched in the face too many times by Yamal. But it was chaos, and that's why we love it. Now, look, I've made a brief list. I'm going to try and be sort of...

you know, go against the grain contrarian or whatever on this. And, you know, you can talk about sort of two leg swings. So Barca, PSG with the 6-1, whenever that was, eight, nine years ago, Milan, Liverpool, obviously. And you've got sort of, you've got one-off matches where, yeah,

incredible dramatics happen or two-leg matches where there's been a big turnaround. But for sustained quality from first leg to second leg with that many utterly balmy moments and swings in it, I've not seen anything like it. I'm quite happy for...

people to criticise me for recency bias, but I thought that was magnificent. A headline in The Athletic, David De Fratesi settles sensational tie, sends Inter to Champions League final. David, where do you stand on that? Have you seen anything quite like that before?

Riyadh's right. It was one for the ages. There will be contenders. I think Spurs might have a say too. From 2019 against Ajax, that was more just the second leg, but still an iconic European moment. But goodness me, it had a bit of everything. And chaos is the right word. But again, it's not a derogatory remark because there was a lot of quality on show from both teams.

I mean, Barcelona's ability to come back from two goals behind in two legs in one week is just extraordinary. They then accelerated tonight and yet still got pegged back. The ability in their side and the feats of Laminia Mahal, who is already exceeding some of the most notable numbers that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were posting at a similar age, is

It's scary what he could become. But I think this is the night for Simone Inzaghi. And he's had a few of them. He reached the Champions League final a couple of years ago. And he's done that again, two finals in three years. What a coach he is. And maybe he's a little bit underappreciated. He does get linked with some of the top jobs in the Premier League in particular. But he's staying at Inter at the moment and doing a fabulous job.

That said, their renowned defensive resilience was called into question in this tie. I think they've conceded more in the two games against Barcelona than their previous 12 European fixtures combined. It's really saying something about Barcelona. But

you know the way that they powered on through um some some premier league rejects you could call them the likes of mcatarian damian and on out of it on the bench um quality from the likes of dumfries the the uh the the equalizing goal scored by what a guy in his late 30s who had never scored in europe before spent much of his career in the lower leagues of italy it had all the

the relevant subplots and, um, and Lataro Martinez, of course, um, who was an injury doubt for this coming through to, to play such a pivotal role. Um, they're going to be ferocious opponents for whoever they're going to face in the final Arsenal or PSG. Uh,

the atmosphere inside San Siro, you could feel it bouncing from all the way here in the UK. It was remarkable and one that won't be forgotten. Wonderful scenes as the Reign team down. Some great and clever recruitment from Samodee Nzaghi then into Milan, Riyadh. But what about the purchase of the goalkeeper, man of the match, Jan Sommer? £5 million compared to £55 for Onana. What a steal he's been.

He was superb. I think, you know, you're possibly talking about two contenders for, say, for the season, the space of the game, whether that's

I think it was the Garcia one first, and then it was Jamal towards the end there as well. I've already seen some rather unkind tweets going out there about the respective business of Inanna versus Son Papas. We might have expected that, but he was brilliant. And I kind of, you know, it was almost one of the sort of, it became one of the subplots of the game, really, where you've got sort of a chevy,

Never scored a European goal. You've got, you've got, you've got some up 36, 5 million signing, and then you've got this sort of this just fluorescent teenager in, in,

in your mouth on the other side. Far from alone as well, I might add, in that Barcelona side. So, you know, you kind of have that old versus the young aspect. But I think if you're trying to carve up that game into how it was won, how it was lost, different dimensions at play,

You could write a book on that two-legged tie. It was just outstanding. It was. And now the winner Inter Milan will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain. Let's talk Arsenal with the back page of the Suns headline, kick them in the goals. Dech calls for, quote, big balls to inspire comeback in Paris. What did you make, David, of the note, the tone that Declan Rice struck pre-match?

It didn't surprise me. Declan Rice is very front foot on and off the pitch. He speaks his mind. He's a great character, personality, leader and a top quality player as we saw in the two-legged tie against Real Madrid in the

in the last round. He's going to be crucial to Arsenal's hopes, no shadow of a doubt. He's got the ability to win it for them, as he did against Real Madrid in the first leg at the Emirates. He should be helped by the return of Thomas Partey, and this is such an enormous game for Arsenal, for Mikel Arteta, for the club as a whole. It's been a disappointing season, you could say, in

the Premier League, although they're in second place, their points tally is lower than in the previous two seasons. Yeah, they've suffered a lot of injuries. There's some mitigation, and they've done well in Europe. But they'll really want to go one step further, and Rice is going to be at the heart of that. They do need to show the courage. The Cajonas will be a bit more pleasant with our language around it. But the...

he's laying it all out there. You know, there is, there's no hiding now. Arsenal have got to go to what's going to be an absolute dinner at the Parc de France. I'm going to set off in a few hours for Paris. And I was there for the Man City game when PSG really clicked and they've never looked back since.

And the noise that night, honestly, it's going to be some atmosphere. If you thought tonight was big, just wait until you hear part de prince tomorrow night. And Arsenal are going to have to show resilience. They're going to have to show tenacity. They're going to have to get out there and attack. And there's no sitting back now. And yet they've still got to be...

able to contain an absolutely brilliant PSG side not just talent but now character and unity and they've ridded themselves of the egos they've got tactics through Luis Enrique and Rice is correct in what he's saying and if they don't apply that there's every chance that they're going to

see their campaign come to an end. Indeed, a real visceral motivational tone from Rice, similar to his manager in Venice, Arteta, let's make history in the times. Arsenal manager wants triumph over Real Madrid to inspire fight back against PSG in Paris tonight. I'd take David's note about the intimidating atmosphere, Rias, but does this not boil down to Arsenal's ability or inability to finish? Is it more about being clinical? Is that what you'd be more concerned about than their courage, maybe?

And I'd say that's probably been the recurring conversation for the past couple of years. We all know where they've left themselves short. On recruitment, I thought we saw it in the first leg as well. Look, I thought 1-0 flattered.

to an extent, but we shouldn't forget as well, they did have chances to make that a one-all game. They had opportunities. They had openings and they didn't take them. We've seen that over and again with Arsenal. I think more fundamentally as well, there's a question about how they're playing. I'm a little bit mindful about reading too much into Premier League form. This is a different...

This is a different competition. It's an open opportunity for them there. But I was at the Bournemouth game on Saturday. They looked flat. They had holes all over the pitch. And we could say that for a while now. Their form hasn't been good in the league. They've somehow turned a two horse race into a possibility of finishing fourth or even fourth.

in the league. I didn't see a lot of confidence in them on Saturday. What I would say is the return of Partey, I think, has the potential to transform the side and at the risk of clutching at a straw or two as well. I thought Odegaard looked much better at the weekend than he has done in some time. I would maintain that Odegaard's

If Odegaard is on form, if Odegaard is playing well, that entire team transforms as well. So I think that could potentially be a factor. But coming back from 1-0 in Paris against that side, which I would maintain is the strongest starting XI in Europe this season and quite possibly by a distance as well.

I think that's an absolutely enormous ask. Now, what I'd be quite keen to see is how they handle that atmosphere. I had this slight feeling, and it's perhaps being wise after seeing them go behind after a couple of minutes, they seem very revved up.

for the first leg. And we heard Declan Rice speaking. I think he's a fantastic leader, but we heard him speaking in the huddle before the game. You know, if we lose the ball, we die. And we'd heard some of Arteta's pre-match rhetoric. I thought they actually needed to go into that match.

with a little bit more composure. And I thought what we saw was a team, I'm reluctant to say overexcited, but they certainly, they were so hyperactive going into the start of that match. They had absolutely no control in that first goal. He just waltzed straight through. He waltzed straight through the middle. Declan Rice's tracking wasn't quite off. I think you could ask a lot of questions about the sort of

you know, the concentration in that moment. They cannot afford to go behind early tomorrow. So I would suggest they possibly need to go in with a slightly more sort of temperate mindset. But it's Champions League semi-final and there's a huge amount on the line.

That's before you even get into the questions around Mikel Arteta and this ongoing debate about five years without a trophy and whether or not he's overachieved or not. Maybe we'll touch upon Arteta in just a second. I'm sure it'll be a conversational point on the next Back Pages tonight as well. But in Sen is the Back Pager, the mirror spelt like the river for those listening to the podcast. PSG star Hakimi warns Arteta red-hot Paris atmosphere will blow Gunners away. Going back to that,

subject of the environment, David. Do you think there's any evidence to suggest that Arsenal will be able to cope with this? What's your assessment of the history?

We'll be able to cope with the environment because they did so at the Bernabeu. I was there and it was ear-splitting initially, but Arsenal silenced the home crowd in the end and they'll try and do so again. But there's no getting away from the sense of occasion here and the amount that's riding on it. And Riyadh's correct to point towards Arsenal's form. It's been pretty wretched in the Premier League. So,

I mean, they'll be turning to Europe. That's their happy hunting ground and hoping that that sort of raises the levels. Unfortunately for Arsenal, if you look at the sort of omens, they're not good in terms of first leg deficits for them as a club, for clubs in Europe full stop at this semifinal stage.

of their record in Paris against Luis Enrique and so on. There's a whole catalogue of things that are going against them, but that's why Mikel Arteta is talking about creating history. They are only one goal behind. There are so many variables that could see things changing.

go their way. I mean, Liverpool won in the Parc des Princes. It was the second leg that PSG turned it around. Manchester City should have won there. And although there was great quality that saw PSG pull through, City were in command and it looked like they would run out winners. So it's not the most daunting task in world football.

But it's going to be a night where they need to stand up in a way that they haven't for a lot of this season, certainly in domestic competition. There's a big piece by Martin Samuel in The Times talking about the amount of Arsenal players who are playing for potentially their futures here. Question marks over many of them. A look at their recruitment past and what they might need to do

this summer and I think a lot of it around playing personnel and of course Mikel Arteta and impressions at least in the public will be formed by what happens in the French capital tomorrow night. David come to you with James Ducker's piece in the Telegraph on the front page of the Sports Supplement. Saudis offer Fernandes £1 million a week to leave United. Al-Halal the club in question. Any legs in this story David do you think?

Well, there's been a long-term interest, Teddy, from the Saudi Pro League in Bruno Fernandes. I think there were proposals last summer before he signed a new contract at United that keeps him there until, I think, 2027, possibly with an option to extend by 12 months. Al-Hilal were, if I remember correctly, in the market for Mo Salah.

He obviously decided to sign a new deal at Liverpool. And so perhaps their attention has turned back to Bruno Fernandes, who's been incredible for Manchester United throughout his time at the club and especially in difficult circumstances this season. His goals and assists were...

a ride out there with the best players and they'd be lost without him, which is why in their mind, he's not going anywhere. They won't want to entertain offers, um, let alone his departure. Um, if they're going to be shifting players and they will be this summer quite spectacularly, I imagine, um,

they won't want Fernandez to be one of them. They'll want to build around him. Even though he turns 31 this year, his productivity is still there. And the soundings we're getting from these reports are that Bruno Fernandez is not interested in the move as things stand. Now, we don't know if that will change with the sort of numbers that might be proposed and they will become eye-watering, I'm sure, if they really want to go for Bruno Fernandez. But,

But if he wants to stay and continue his career in Europe and Manchester United genuinely have no intent in cashing in on him, regardless of their financial situation, then I imagine it's a story that will end in him remaining at Old Trafford over the summer and into next season. As David says there, Riath, especially when you consider he's been playing deep-lying midfield for some of this season in one of the worst Manchester United teams we can remember. 19 goals and 18 assists.

Is he irreplaceable? And do you expect him maybe to have a little bit of leverage to want some assurances from Ruben Amrim about what the actual plan is? I think he'd be entitled to seek those assurances, even if Al-Halal weren't putting crazy money in.

on the table. Look, if I was to be risk being a little bit facetious about it, he might fancy joining an upwardly mobile club, but, um, look, we know, we know what the Saudi league is. We know where they, where they stand compared to Manchester United. So I'd be, I'd be utterly amazed if he, um,

They've even considered this stage in his career when he's 30. But he'd have every right to ask United what their plans are, when is there going to be some coherence in this strategy they've got, when are they going to start bringing in players that are suitable for the Premier League, suitable for Manchester United and equipped to get them moving forward again. I'd be amazed if he hadn't been having those conversations for the last couple of seasons.

to be perfectly honest. But yeah, he has been their standout by a distance. I think we can all have a debate about his captaincy, merits in terms of his temperament on the pitch, the way he sometimes behaves. But as a player, he's fantastic. And I think we've already touched on the stats there with 19 goals, 18 assists.

in that team, I think you could make an argument in that context for player of the season.

It'd be amazing, wouldn't it, if that came about? We'll see what happens with Bruno Fernandes. Let's talk Trent Alexander-Arnold going to Real Madrid, but now a question of when he's allowed to play for them, David. In the Telegraph, Jason Burt writing, Real won early Alexander-Arnold exit. Spaniards asked for full-back in time for Club World Cup. Liverpool to be offered cash. How much do you think Liverpool could earn, David? Could it be a significant amount to release him?

If you were a Liverpool fan, you would want it to be a significant amount. Real Madrid stand to earn a huge amount of money from the Club World Cup. If they're going to benefit with the presence of Trent Alexander-Arnold in their side for all of it, then Liverpool will want to see something pretty substantial. I'm not sure what's going to happen here because the proposed six-year contract that Real Madrid signed

um are expected to sign with trent alexander arnold in the coming weeks is is due to start from july as i understand it and so um it's going to be a a tough negotiation we don't know his intentions as as a player and there's a lot of flux at real madrid with the new coach coming in is it going to be before the club world cup is it going to be after will he be happy just to wait until his liverpool contract expires and then

join up with Real Madrid at the Club World Cup if they're still through to the latter stages. A lot to be sorted out. I think it's going to be a case of put up the money that we feel suitable or we're not going to do it. Maybe Liverpool will decide that it's not worth doing at all. So I think this one is really unclear at this point in time. But we do know that Liverpool

Trent Alexander-Arnold will be playing for Real Madrid and it's just a matter of when now rather than if. Yeah, we'll see if he appears June the 18th in Miami against Al-Hilal. Let's quickly talk Aston Villa and Spurs in the Times with Charlotte Dunker's piece on the back page. Villa anger at Spurs switch. Only got about a minute remaining, Riyadh.

So it means that this game, Villa-Spurs, has been moved back two days early. We take Villa's anger out of it. How significant could it be a precedent for the Premier League maybe accommodating European adventures for their teams?

Something that's worth stating here is obviously Villa are briefing about this being unprecedented. We are aware that there are conversations that do go on behind the scenes quite regularly with the Premier League that I don't think that they'd be necessarily afraid to say it when it comes to an exceptional circumstance, for instance, a semi-final of a European competition. They are going to want to

try and find an accommodation to give one of their member teams the best chance possible. I don't think from that point of view it's a unique situation. Clearly Villa are a little bit

They wanted the Liverpool game, the game that got planted on February 19th. That wasn't convenient for them. They had sort of an outrageous run of fixtures, whatever it was, five in 14 games. So they're feeling a little bit sore by that. I would also speculate that they're possibly using this as a little bit of advanced leverage for the next time a situation comes into their path where they can turn around to the Premier League and say, well, you know, remember this time you did Tottenham a favour. Well, how about you pay us back?