Remontadahaha as Arsenal dismantle Madrid in Champions League
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Hello. I should say that this episode of Hand Break Off contains strong language and scenes of jubilation. I mean, what did you expect? The Athletic FC Podcast Network.

The only way to score is, of course, to play with a hand-break-off. Hello, I'm Ian Stone. This is Hand-Break-Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Last night, or earlier today from me,

Good morning.

Good morning, or is it still evening with you? It is evening. I'm between gigs. I'm between gigs. And by the way, listener, we will be hearing from all the others, all right? But people are traveling. James and Amy are traveling back right now. Adrian is at the snooker, is he? I don't know. LAUGHTER

Not yet. That's 75 hours. He thinks that's more important or something. I don't know. Anyway, I can't wait to give him a little stick. What are we hearing from all of those at some point? Have you slept? Did you sleep? You must have been quite excited. I got about five hours, I think. That's quite a lot for gooners, I think, to be honest. So, yeah, I think, as was probably the case with everyone, I just didn't know what to do for the two hours that I had.

after full time. Luckily, during the game, I was kind of in work mode, so that kept me just concentrated. But then afterwards, I was just like,

Going on TikTok, Twitter, trying to just find every video I could. Yeah. So, yeah, it was a night. It was a night. Saka singing to the crowd with his shirt off after the game. I loved that. I just loved that one. I mean, I loved all of it, to be honest with you. After the game, because, you know, I watched it in this place in Melbourne, Beer Deluxe, in Federation Square. It was about 150 people.

Maybe 200 people in there five o'clock in the morning, right? These guys are showing commitment and by the way, can I just say thank you to all of the gooners who've been really friendly over here and some have come to the show and the comments they've made and this is for you are as well as Amy and Adrian and James as well how much they love the podcast and we really appreciate it and you know, thanks for coming to shows and let me know and I'm passing it on.

I guess. I am. Thanks to everyone down under and everywhere else. All the people that email. And everywhere else. There are gooners everywhere, mate. There are. And I spent, after the game, I was in a daze. I mean, the sun's coming up, right? It's so weird. The sun's coming up. I've just watched Arsenal absolutely spank Real Madrid, winning the Bernabeu. And when that goal went in, when Martínez got one in, it erupted this place. I mean, because it didn't,

mean anything but it meant everything didn't it yeah definitely so all of that well we'll talk about all of it we've got voice notes from Amy we've got voice notes from James we've got voice notes from Adrian what an outstanding team performance don't you think I mean in the end because obviously Robbie our producer we had a little sort of whatsapp back and forth after the game and I'm sort of saying oh Declan Rice was great and Marino was great and Marti and then I thought they were all great

They were all great, weren't they? That was such a great... And by the way, two legs. This is over the two legs. A great team performance. 100%. I think if we start with the second leg, as the game was going on and you're watching and you're watching and you're watching and you're seeing all the Bernabéu nonsense...

go on. I think in my head, I was just thinking, wow, collectively and individually, everyone is probably at their top level. And I think the player that probably summed that up was Jakub Kivior. And I know before the first leg,

I was quite skeptical of him starting. We all were. We all were. We all said Ben White. Yeah, but I think I was messaging a friend as we all probably were. And I said, the longer the game went on, the better he got. I think there was a moment where I think he's just stood like on the edge of the box and someone pelts a shot at his stomach and

And he kind of just repels it with ease. And then, yeah, just throughout the game, I thought he really grew in confidence. But yeah, everyone to a T, I think, was outstanding. Great, great team performance.

Yeah, Jakub Kivior, I mean, obviously we're all talking about everyone, but Jakub Kivior, we've watched him grow, haven't we, in the last couple of games. I mean, I've got WhatsApp messages from mates saying he's a liability, right? This is before the two legs. And certainly in that first leg when he went for that ball and then it didn't, he missed it and suddenly Mbappe's hairing through on goal. And you're thinking, oh my God, how are we going to put up with this? But he was so solid defensively.

so solid. I mean, it was our other centre-half who made the one mistake on the night, wasn't it? And Williams, by the way, he was watching him, watching him step in front of Mbappe and shepherding the ball out. The bar erupted when he did that. When he did that in the first half, it was absolutely fantastic. Um,

God, it's difficult to know. I mean, did you feel comfortable at all, by the way? Did you feel comfortable? The most uncomfortable I felt was just the VAR stuff. That was it. Other than that, as you say, I think Saliba and Kivior dealt with every cross that came in. And then also how compact Rice, Partey and Marino were whenever...

Madrid tried to kind of attack Arsenal centrally. Gave me quite a lot of comfort, actually. We are compact, though, aren't we? Really good at that. People forget. I mean, we played a bit more expansively in the second half against Madrid. But when we have to get back and defend, everyone knows their position. Everyone knows where they're meant to be. And the truth is, and I was watching it last night, I thought, we're a nightmare to play against. Yeah.

I mean, we are a nightmare. I've heard, what's this, Eina, who plays for Nottingham Forest, talking about what it's like to play against Arsenal. What a nightmare it is. And you could see that Madrid, Jude Bellingham getting pissed off. I mean, how funny. That was great, wasn't it? I mean, Rice absolutely killed him, didn't he? So, yeah. So, aside from the VAR stuff, you felt okay about the whole thing? Yeah, it was all good. All good. The second missed the penalty? Shit. LAUGHTER

That was my reaction. I was like, oh no. But to be fair, I think it probably just shows the confidence that he's got at the minute, that he's even attempting that. And the fact that he did get his dink in the end, I think it was a happy ending in the end. He got it in the end, didn't he? And the confidence of the boy, like I say, watching him celebrate and singing the songs with the Arsenal fans. I mean, you got the sense at the end,

There's such a unity now at the club. You know that unity that we had a couple of seasons ago when that young team were going for the title and fell just short. But the feeling in the stadium was it's us together, all of us. And that's what it feels like now. I mean, I certainly know there are 150 Gunners in Melbourne who went to breakfast very, very happy. Let me tell you. Yeah.

And I think Bukayo is probably the figurehead of all of that. I think everyone remembers the tweet he did when Arsenal were in their kind of, it was a terrible time, I think winter 2020, seven Premier League games without a win when he tweeted that the Arsenal fans deserve more. And I think that really struck a chord with Arsenal.

probably most Arsenal fans and many people still bring it up and I think he's someone that actually remembers posting that at the time and you see the way he uses social media doesn't do it frivolously does it when he feels he can have a biggest impact

impact and I just think when you see the connection that you saw in the Fulham game when he came on he's the guy he is Arsenal so I think for him to get that moment obviously very similar to the Henry moment when he shushed the Birmingham bow I think it was fitting.

It was lovely to listen to that. Oh, really? I think you're absolutely right. Now, as I said, Amy Lawrence, James McNicholas, as well as producer Jay, were all out in Madrid for the game. Fellow goodies, let's relive last night's historic match in the company of Amy Lawrence. So Real Madrid have just unveiled their really terrifying banner. And I have to say, we're all absolutely quaking here. They made a big deal about how intimidating it was going to be.

whatever bring it on safe to say the godlike figure playing chess is not really making an impression on the away fans from their T-boat well they're checking for a potential penalty here that's why he's come over we've just got a very late look at that they're checking bar the crowd are all thinking what the hell is going on ten minutes in he's given Arsenal a penalty oh my word what's he gonna give

Saka puts it on the spot. It's a huge, huge moment for Arsenal Football Club. Huge moment. Plays for a penalty like that. The Arsenal supporters can't believe it. And Thibaut Courtois didn't buy it. What a moment for Arsenal and Madrid in this time. It gives them a little bit of hope. But I think Arsenal have to be very proud of their initial start to this game and not take any despair from this.

Heather from a safe... Oh, it's a penalty! Wow. It's a penalty! And, bam, it's a yellow card. Declan Rice is furious. He said it didn't touch him. Now it's a bar for the Real Madrid penalty. 25 minutes in. Quite a long check. As usual, the fans have no clue what's going on. This does seem unbelievably long to be trying to work it out. The Arsenal players are quite stressed. Real's players are trying to boost their crowd.

while we wait for the decision. No yellow card for Declan Rice. There's a lot of loaded emotion going on in this ground. Reprieve for Madrid, then a reprieve for Arsenal. On we go. It remains 3-0 on aggregate. Urdegaard gets it back again from Declan Rice. Marino and it goes to Bakayosaka. Lifts it up!

Arsenal heading to the semi-finals of the Champions League and cue the delirium among the Arsenal fans. What a superb goal. A historic moment. It's like unreal all over again. This away section has just gone berserk. They've lost it here though. It's Vinicius Junior. Oh my word. Got in the blink of an eye.

Got a goal back and cue the celebrations now from the Real Madrid supporters. The exhilarating nature of this game goes on. I think Arsenal were still celebrating when all of a sudden the ball seemed to be in the other end and Madrid got something back. Off goes Martinelli and he's only got Frank Garcia with him and he's in behind him. It's Martinelli! It's the semi-finals for Arsenal. It's a glory to Madrid and the holders out.

And that just cuts the seal. Magnificent two-leg display. Arteta's team. What a day! It is over. Historic moment for Arsenal. Let's just say there's three and a half thousand elated people in awe of the effort put on the pitch by that team.

coming here without their best defender in Gabi Magalhaes without a centre forward, Lentik Lee this team are growing in faith, honestly to have wins home and away against Real Madrid is unforgettable. The team have come over to take a bow and have they deserved it? Exceptional effort right the way across the teams. David Rye was sensational on the score.

Fundamental was in that first 10 minutes, Arsenal went at Madrid and had two really good chances, two openings for Saka. And that sent a message. And, you know, we don't need to talk about the penalty really in the greater scheme of things, but showing that kind of bravery to say, we're not coming here to be the bridesmaids at your party.

we're coming here because we believe in ourselves. There was an awful lot of work, I think, that must have been done by Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff psychologically to prepare the players, to prepare them to feel the things that Madrid wanted them to feel, which was, you're coming here and we don't care it's 3-0 because...

we do this special thing and there's nothing you can do about it and I think they're very clever in the way that they almost manipulate it's quite Machiavellian the way they create this kind of atmosphere it's legend this icon of what they're capable of and of course they've had amazing experiences in the past and good luck to them that they can

They can use that, but Arsenal had to make sure that that was not relevant to them. And for that, there is an enormous amount of credit that Mikel, the coaching staff and the players need to sit and look at themselves tomorrow and say, we handled that. And if you handle that, you can handle anything. That was the athletics. Amy Lawrence there during last night's game. Hearing Amy's audio.

I mean, it's the emotions of what we all experienced last night. What an unforgettable night for all of us. She also did a little...

tweet, it's not a tweet, is it, on Blue Sky saying, post, post, remontada, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. She put that on Blue Sky and then she said the same thing to me but added arrogant twang. Which I thought, you're absolutely right because what you were saying, that whole Real Madrid, the comeback and I understand why they hyped it

And listen, if any club has got a right to be arrogant in the Champions League and about the Champions League, it's Real Madrid, right? They've won it 15 times. They obviously have incredible pedigree. But

It all got a bit much, didn't it, really? I tell you what, let's talk about what the players take from that and what Mikel Arteta takes from that. Bukayo Saka said after the game, it's amazing to be in the semi-final with Arsenal. To do it here in a stadium like this, we have to be proud of ourselves. And Declan Rice said, this club is going to do special things over the next few years. We all fully believe it. We have full trust in this manager. He's unbelievable. He said, we knew we were going to win.

There was a lot of talking coming here about Real Madrid coming back because they've done it so many times. But we had enough belief and confidence in the first leg that we had enough to come here. And Arteta said, one of the best nights in my football career, for sure. They all believe now, don't they, Art? Yeah, I think they did beforehand. I think they did as well. When you look at all the pre-match press conferences, so Mikel Mourinho and Mikel Arteta, I lost count of the amount of times they both said, we're here to win.

Obviously, everybody was talking about just holding on the lead, sitting on the lead. And I think even one of the Spanish press asked Mikel, well, why do you need to try and win the game if you're already ahead? But I think that just showed where...

the mindset was. And actually before the first leg, I think Mikel Arteta was talking about how it's more than just having belief. It's about your mindset. And I think this is probably a really good moment to signify proof where Arsenal can go, who they can compete with as well, because Arsenal,

I think we all probably felt there was maybe a bit of an inferiority complex when they played Bayern last year. Yeah. But I don't think that should be there anymore. And I think the players feel the same way. I think that they must have sat there after the Bayern game and thought, we didn't,

really turn up, particularly for the second leg. And also in the first leg, they're letting two quick goals and it just took the wind out of us. Whereas there's another level. Whatever Gary Neville might say about how Mikel Arteta was taking this club backwards. And seriously, Adrian only told me that the other day and I've been...

brooding about it ever since. What the hell do you know? What do you know? You don't watch our club. You can make comments about Man Utd. Mind you, I make comments about Man Utd. But that's different. I'm not a well-paid pundit in the same way. I just think it was nonsense. And it's shown to be nonsense by what we did last night because that is not a team going backwards. No.

No, no. And actually, I think one thing I just remembered, so I think I wrote something last week and I realised Bukayo Saka was only seven years old when Arsenal last got to Champions League semi-final. So that just shows in the last 15 years, this hasn't been...

a place where Arsenal have got to regularly at all. So to get to this point shows the growth even from when Mikel Arteta first came in and they were struggling in the Europa League and now I think it's about showing that you belong here and I truly think they do. Yeah and in terms of like moving forward right PSG in the semi-final Barcelona or Inter in the final by the way.

Harry Kane losing. LAUGHTER

Sorry, I'm just going to laugh. I don't really have much to say about that because they kept going like little clips of the other game. Went into the school and then they had one of Harry with his head in his hands. You know what? I actually felt sorry for him as a fellow gooner that he couldn't watch our game, to be honest with you. That's the main thing. That thing you're talking about, I said it the other day about the status of the club. You know, I mean, we have won two European trophies in our history. It's not enough.

for a club of our status. You know, we won the Fairs Cup and we won the Cup Winners' Cup. And it's not good enough, is it? I mean, we need...

You know, we should have had more than that. And I think, you know, this is what they think now. We want to be proper European royalty. And they played like royalty last night, didn't they? As opposed to the games against Bayern a couple of years ago when they were sort of a bit cowed by the whole occasion. You know, the Wenger years when we're getting beat 10-2 over two legs. I mean, Real Madrid could be playing for the next week and they wouldn't score 10 against us, would they? The only goal they got was a mistake that we made.

I mean, there has to be so much credit to Mikel Arteta and the coaching staff for where they've taken us. He joined in 2019. Those tough years with the COVID years and now this. This is a reward. Yeah, I think the main thing I took away was just the discipline of the team. And that's something I think that when you think back to, I guess, Unai Emery's last game in the Europa League, which was Frankfurt.

at home, probably an empty stadium at the Emirates. And there was no discipline at all. So easy to play through. I remember Freddie Youngberg when he was in interim charge was speaking about that and how he wanted this team to be more cynical. And I think

He meant that in a positive way. And we've seen that develop in leaps and bounds under Mikel Arteta year on year. I think Arsenal have become more street smart in the way they play, harder to beat, which is probably what you need to go far in these competitions. And it really just speaks to, I guess,

Mikael Arteta identifying what was going wrong at the time and finding ways to slowly but surely improve them and after the game actually so I mentioned the phrase on here last week after the first leg put your bollocks on the table and somebody on Twitter kind of replied to one of my tweets with that phrase again and it made me chuckle because

One, it was just so weird to see something that's said so often in my group chat on Twitter. Yeah. Hey, mate, people are listening. People are listening. People are hearing bollocks on the table all over the world. But also, it just felt like another one of those performances last night. It was. It was. And as you say, for Martinelli to get that winner, it just made it extra special. Oh, that was just so beautiful.

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Save up to 40% with minimum purchase, plus a free measure. Rules and restrictions may apply. Let's hear from James McNicholas now, after last night's win. Wow, full-time at the Bernabeu, what a special night. 2-1 to Arsenal on the night, 5-1 on aggregate.

the away fans who are still in the stadium are chanting you can stick your remontada up your ass that's the message that arnold sent to madrid tonight dismantling the myth dismantling the aura two brilliant goals from bakaya saka and gabriel martinelli the last few weeks of this season could be so spectacular that we forget about almost everything that came before

Football's a strange game in that respect. You know, we've suffered at times this season. It's felt like everything's gone against us, that it's not been our year. And suddenly this path to glory is opening up in front of us. Honestly, sometimes it defies analysis. But you do get the sense that Arsenal sense their moment, sense their opportunity. And it's difficult to disagree. Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, what a tie that promises to be. London and Paris, Arsenal with all the

French heritage in the club historically. PSG have been in brilliant form as well. I thought they were superb against Liverpool and Villa, but Arsenal are the vanquishers of Real Madrid, the conquerors of the holders, and perhaps...

perhaps favourites at this point. If you knock out Madrid, it's very hard to dismiss that idea. Enjoy this one, guys. I'm sorry I can't be on the pod properly in the morning. I've got to catch a flight back to London. Suspect there might be one or two slightly worse for wear Arsenal fans on that plane and who can blame them? A special night. Bye-bye. I really love what James said there, Art. You know, the way he talked about it and how important this is for the status of the club, for where we are now. I mean...

We're favourites. Are we not now for the Champions League? I mean, we are favourites, I believe. The bookies, I think, have us as favourites. Now, obviously, that would be in the UK where more money would be lumped on the Arsenal than the other teams. But,

You know, we're playing a semi-final against a team that we've already beaten in the group stages. I'm not saying it's the same team. They're not. But it is the same team. And we beat them already. And we beat them quite comfortably, by the way, as well. Now, we are missing some players. And we're going to be missing Thomas Partey as well, which was the one annoying moment, really, aside from Saturday's penalty. And the way that Detlef Rice had a go at him.

I mean, my God, he was like, it was just like, what are you doing? What are you doing that's making it harder for us? He's just going to have to do more work, isn't he, Dettenham? But that's all right. Are we favourites? I think if you're Mikel Arteta and the players, you have to be bold. You probably have to view yourselves that way. Yeah. Because otherwise there's no point in being in the semi-final. No. Looking at it from, I guess, just...

an observer's point of view, I would probably say they might just edge it as favourites. I'd say Inter are probably the team that I'd want to face least out of the other semi-final. Yeah. Just because they, I think Arsenal and Inter have been the two best defences in the Champions League this season and it feels like that could be just very attritional to watch. Yeah, like I preferred to get Real than Atletico for the same reason.

So yeah, and then in the PSG semi-final, I think it is probably a good thing to have that, I guess, edge of beating them already this season. But then, as you say, they're a different team, but Arsenal, I think, will also be a different team. We're different as well, exactly. I think people forget that

Arsenal played a 4-4-2 that day because Martin Odegaard was out injured. They were playing Kai Havertz and Trossard up front and that probably won't happen again this time around. So I think it will be two very different teams playing each other and it will be quite interesting to see how they kind of match up against each other this time. I've got a question for you, right? If Kai Havertz gets fit, does he get in the team ahead of Mikel Mourinho up front? I mean, that's a serious question. Oof.

my instinct would be no, just from a fitness perspective. But also I think where you're probably going with the question is, Mikel Moreno is actually,

improved a lot as a set up forward in the last few weeks. I mean, listen, props to him. What an amazing, amazing thing he's done. You know, we lost our striker. We went, Al, we should have signed a striker. No one is talking about how we should have signed a striker. No, I haven't heard that once. Not once in the last few weeks. And we put five past Real Madrid.

McComberino's out playing out of position playing out of his scheme yeah two assists yesterday two assists and the second one was actually ridiculous because on the replay I don't even know if he looks up

So the timing of the pass is so good. Yeah. I mean, the shape on the pass for the Saka goal is so good as well. But yeah, I think for him yesterday, it was a very selfless performance. Yes. A lot of sacrifice in terms of dropping deep. And there were actually times where, I mean, Saka was the out ball rather than him, which you'd kind of expect with his height and being the centre forward. But his game, I think he's shown well.

why he's knocked out Real Madrid a few times already when he was at Real Sociedad. Yes. And all that kind of experience, all that know-how probably came to the fore. I'm not sure if he would have kind of given many tips to his teammates, but I'm sure for him personally, it probably would have made an impact on the big night. Yeah. And he won the header, didn't he, for the first goal as well that Bukaya ran onto it.

Yeah, the atmosphere was pretty spectacular before the game and we've heard the guys talking about what it was like. But as we've said with this team, they're a grown-up team now, aren't they? I mean, other teams may well have wilted.

it almost made them stronger, didn't it? I mean, I like what Mikel said. Yeah, there's been a lot of talking. Do your talking on the pitch. I really liked him saying that, you know, because it really threw down the gauntlet to them. Let's talk about Bukayo Saka, shall we? Because he got battered, sorry, clattered by David Alaba.

in the first, what, five minutes or something? Four minutes. Got a book in, Alaba, and, you know, Bukayo is just spectacularly good, isn't he? And listen, nobody's going to have a go at him for the penalty. I mean, I think Mikel might have a quiet word. LAUGHTER

you know, about that. But in the end, he scored another great goal. And, you know, he's such a totemic person for the team. And he adds so much into... I mean, I know you've spoken about him already, but he adds so much into...

in terms of just taking the pressure off other players. Martin Erdogan looks happier that he's there, doesn't he? Yeah, definitely. So I've got a piece coming out tomorrow on Bukayo because after the first leg, one of the Spanish newspapers, AS, called him a torturer. Yeah. That was in reference to David Alaba. So I've looked back over the first leg and obviously the second leg as well to see how he tortured them.

And similar in the first leg, he won a free kick in the first three minutes. I think it was Luka Modric fouled him. And then there was a point in the first leg where David Alaba actually points to Jude Bellingham and tells him to mark Saka instead. I think it just got to a point where he didn't want to kind of engage in that battle, really. I think Saka had him on toast in both games. And you see...

When a player has that kind of effect on others, not just his own teammates, like you mentioned with Martin Odegaard, but when he can put fear into someone as experienced as David Alaba, I think that just shows the level that he's playing at. And what's, I mean, just stupid is the fact that

these are his only starts of the calendar year it's like it's mad it's it's absolutely i agree it's absolutely mad and you know because it's possible he's not back at full fitness yet yeah and uh he's only gonna get better through the rest of the season yeah i mean me and you and every other gooner absolutely love him and he deserves every little tiny bit of love he gets from us um

The VAR, you know, I see why he gave the penalty and I was happy to have it, to be honest with you. But I hate all that VAR. I loved it 10 minutes later, of course, when Mbappe threw himself to the ground. I mean, there's no doubt Declan Rice had his arms around him, but that's not why he fell over. And I like the fact, because in real time you could see maybe what a referee gave it.

But it wasn't the same as the first one when Asensio had hold of Mourinho. And yeah, all that waiting. I mean, that was, as you said, it was awful, wasn't it? It's just, we don't need that. You know, can we not just play the game? I honestly felt so sick. I don't know what I would have done if I was actually in the stadium because, yeah, it was just the feeling of dread of what was coming. But the first one was weird, as you say, like to pull it back again.

From an incident that was maybe a minute or 90 seconds beforehand, I don't think people in the stadium probably knew what was going on. Which again, that's the major, I think, issue other than the waiting is the not knowing what they're actually looking at. And I think that's probably an area where they still have to

really, really improve on. Quite. Because there are good things about it, of course. You know, those glaring errors that you do get. I thought the ref was a bit fussy, but actually I thought he grew into it as well. And I thought by the end of it, I was like, yeah, mate. To be honest, there wasn't much anyone could have done anything. And I'm going, yeah, are you all right? Everyone was my friend by that point. People were actually drinking as well, by the way, in the bar at five or six o'clock in the morning. David Ryer didn't have a save to make. We defended so well.

but I think back to the podcast we had when we had Aaron Ramsdale and we brought in David Raya and he had a very shaky start. Well,

I think one has to acknowledge, I mean, he is, he's the man and he might win the Golden Gloves again. I'm not sure if he still can, but he might win the Golden Gloves again in the Premier League. He won it last year. He's an outstanding goalkeeper and he can play. There was one pass that went across past the defender and it wasn't clear on the TV screens who it was too. And then David Rier appears in the sort of central midfield defensive position, you know, and it

Oh, he's there, is he? Of course he is. Okay, that's fine. But what, I mean, outstanding over two legs. So self-assured. Top. I actually misspoke earlier when I said it was Mikel Moreno in the pre-match press conference. It was David Raya because he's got that kind of English Blackburn accent.

kind of Spanish accent going on. Yeah, I love it when that happens. I love it. Older listeners may well remember Jan Moldby speaking Danish Scouse. But yeah, it's a similar sort of vibe, isn't it really? Yeah, but I think, as you say, I didn't realise the goal actually started with him as well. It was his ball up to Mikel Mourinho that was headed on for Saka to then start that move.

Yeah, and he was aiming for Mikel Moreno's head. He was. That's exactly the space he was going for. Let's not forget that. Because a few minutes earlier, he actually played a similar ball right onto Bakayosaka's chest. Yes. Again, all David Alibaba could do was look. And Bakayosaka brought that down under pressure and then came inside, didn't he? Yes. And you just went, oh my God, how good is he? I'll tell you what, let's hear from Adrian. Adrian...

I imagine he enjoyed last night's game as well. Another glory night, eh? Just absolutely superb. If you can beat Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate...

I just don't think you can put a ceiling on what that team can achieve. And it's probably time we all realised that, believed it. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are back in the big time. And, you know, this result over two legs definitely shows that we can win the Champions League.

No doubt about that. We've shown that we can be calm. We don't give up chances. Think of the quality of Real Madrid's attack and then think about how few clear-cut chances they had over two legs, how rarely they opened us up. The goal that we gave them at the Bernabeu, it's a gift, isn't it? It's a mistake.

He didn't carve us open. They just resorted to hitting hopeful crosses into the box, which we repelled and cleared every single time. It was so good. I loved how calm, unflustered we were. They turned up the heat around Madrid. They made it a proper test. They gave it everything. It was intense. It was hostile, but the players didn't lose their cool. They were streetwise at the right times and really resilient. And look...

I don't think anything gets harder than that. So if we can handle that, we can kind of handle anything. Declan Rice, flawless. Just a magnificent individual performance again. The amount of times he intercepted it, tracked back, broke up play. But when we had it, he was the one often surging forward.

He is a monster of a central midfielder, Declan Rice. And we're going to need him in the semi, obviously, with Thomas Partey out. So we're going to need him even more. Saka, great character again. Obviously, bad penalty, but that goal was delightful, wasn't it? And look, double assist from Mikel Mourinho. Two brilliant through balls.

I thought he was great with his hold-up play and with his defending inside our box. Look, everywhere you looked, the players played well. Kivio stepped up, didn't he? Lewis Skelly got better and better as the game went on. It was a performance to make us all feel proud and can't wait to see how we get on in the semi-finals. It's going to be awesome. I genuinely think that we've got...

Got a great chance of winning it. So let's see. Let's see where it takes us. Yes, that was Adrian Clarke there. As Adrian said, there are Detlef Rice, flawless last night. Again, he called him a monster, right? Two Man of the Match Awards against Real Madrid. I mean, as good as Detlef Rice is,

was last season when he turned up. Because he had a bit of a rocky start, didn't he? That issue got sent off against Brighton. And he didn't look the player that he was the season before. Now, he looks better than when he arrived. Definitely. So the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking back to the Christmas period because...

He was on the bench for a few games and I think that was probably partly because he was coming back from his broken toe. But also I think just having that kind of few weeks where he didn't have to start every game was probably really helpful for him because he was able to recharge after a year where he played pretty much every game for Arsenal then went to the Euros.

had won the Conference League with West Ham the year before as well. So he'd been playing non-stop and I think having a little bit of a break has given him almost that kind of recharging time to now see what we're seeing at the back end of this season. And what was so amazing about last night was it just seemed like

every minute there was a tackle from him interceptions tackles driving forward i mean he was the heartbeat wasn't he yeah and last week it's funny actually because in my group chat i've mentioned so at halftime i said we haven't had one of those like big tackles from rice yet i'm still waiting for one of those then he scores the free kicks and everyone kinds of forgets about that

But then we get about a thousand of those big tackles at the Burnabout. So amazing, amazing stuff from Declan Rice. And I think to be fair, he won Man of the Match, but it could have gone to anyone in my opinion.

I think that's true. But when you think he's up against Jude Bellingham, and we know how talented Jude is, I mean, you forget how young he is because of his build and what have you. You know, he's built like a bloke, right? I mean, let's be fair. And he has been since he was about 16. But Detling Rice had him on toast yesterday. And, you know, I've seen Jude Bellingham dominate games against almost everyone. There was one moment, actually, where Rice is in midfield and then Bellingham makes a run in behind.

and rice tracks it all the way back and he kind of lunges right at the last minute and gets a block on bellingham's cross it was a great tackle it's just amazing yeah actually they gave a corner but it went out it was actually a goal kick really bellingham lost yes i saw the replay wow and i'm thinking wow i mean no no it was a perfect perfect tackle and i was worried about that one to be honest because bellingham was just about to shoot yeah that's like it was so good the i guess

One, the awareness. Two, the stamina. And then three, the technique to pull off the tackle as well. And as you say, should have been a goal kick.

I think he's just gone up another level, which I think is scary because even at the weekend, we spoke about the running on the ball against Brentford for the goal. There's so much to his game and I don't think we're seeing much of it, which is weird to say. No, I know what you mean. But it's good that we're in this week in particular, these last three games, we've seen three very different sides to Declan Rice, which probably show why...

105 million is deemed as half price. We got him half price. We got him half price. We talked about Mikko Marino. Let's talk about Myles Lewis-Skelly as well. I mean, I still think he takes a few risks, right? I mean, there are moments when I go, oh my God, what's he doing there? And he got caught a couple of times. But let's not forget, he's 18. He also, by the way, is not a left back. He's a central midfielder.

I mean, there was a really great interview with Detlef Rice and Lewis Skelly after the match. And he said, just got to take in the moment and have fun, you know. I mean, I love the fact that an 18-year-old can step on the pitch in a quarterfinal of a Champions League and have fun. Because it didn't look like a lot of the Real Madrid players were having fun. I mean, these guys. I mean, obviously, we talk about Saka when he's 23 and he's obviously an icon for the team. Miles Lewis Skelly, you know, he could play 600, 700, 800 games for us. He could break records like that.

I mean, he can, but so can Ethan Waniera. I don't want Ethan Waniera to get forgotten, even though he didn't play. I don't think he will get forgotten. I don't think he will. He's got eight goals this season. But I just wanted to mention him as well. But I think with Myles, it's so crazy to see because that stadium, you think of the names that have played there. And I think Myles probably hasn't even played...

50 games for Arsenal yet but he looks so assured and that's another word that I think Mikel Arteta kept mentioning being self-assured and being reassured by the performance and that's probably one of the bigger themes as well not not being surprised by these performances because they're performances we've seen before it's just a different stage that's the only thing that's changed and

and with miles i think he handled it uh exceptionally well especially when rudiger stamped on his i don't know where he's actually chest wouldn't it chest it looked it looked lower down than that to be fair but to deal with that as well i think he did um tremendously well uh showed great personality yeah no love him absolutely love him uri and timber let's

Let's talk about Jurgen Timber. My God, he's solid, isn't he? I mean, I just love watching him defend. He is so strong. I mean, it must be such a nightmare to play against him, you know, one-on-one when he's facing an attacker. Vinny Jr., he's up against Vinny Jr., one of the best players in the world. And we didn't really see a lot from Vinny. I mean, there were times when he gave away corners, Jurgen Timber, because that's what he had to do.

but he's up against one of the best wingers in the world and didn't really create a huge amount. One time when he came inside and had a shot at David Ray of Fellows, more like a pass back really, that was it.

Yeah, I think the big thing with Timber is how proactive he is when he's defending. He's got a bite to him, which is really... I don't think a lot of defenders do in the current day, which makes me sound old. No, no, no, I get it. But I think we've missed that. Again, we've spoken about how him and Ben White are different types of right backs. And I still think it would have been nice to see White in one of these games, but...

when you've got a player like Timber in your ranks, it just makes you that much stronger. And it shows, I guess, last season as well, where Arsenal could have been. We'd have won the title, mate. We'd have won the title with you and Timber in the team.

We've mentioned pretty much everyone. The only one I want to talk about is Gabriel Martinelli and that goal. I mean, he... And also the way... How selfless he is, you know? I liked it when he was toodling about on the side. For about 30 seconds. And they were getting angry. Yes, they were getting angry. And I'm thinking, well, then, you know what? Your player should make a tackle. That's the thing. When I say...

Defenders aren't proactive. It's stuff like that. Martinelli is just shuffling the ball between his feet. I love him doing that. Just go in and make a tackle. Oh, well. I mean, I'm happy they didn't make a tackle, obviously. Yeah, yeah. He nutmegged Hendrik as well. And that finish, I say, great pass through from Mikel Moreno. I mean, that will live. That, for me, I mean, I know Bakayosaka's goal will be iconic.

Because it sort of did win the tie, didn't it, really? Even though we let in the goal straight after. But when Gabby Martinelli went through and played it round, Henri-esque, one would say. He's got that finish in his locker. He has. We've seen it. He used his pace to get ahead of the last defender and then curled it round Thibaut Courtois. And every Arsenal fan was just in an ecstatic moment. It was...

Yeah, I'm getting emotional thinking about it. I genuinely am. No, I am. Why not? I think that moment when you talk about status, it just elevates the night to another level. To win. To win in the Bernabeu. Exactly. You can say you won there. You won both ties, deservedly so, and you won twice at the Bernabeu.

I don't know if any other team has done that in the Champions League that has only played there twice. No, they haven't. We're the only ones. And the only goal we let in in all four games was our mistake. Exactly. Our mistake. And you know what? These things happen. Ian Stone and Art de Rocher and a rolling cast of voice notes from Adrian Clarke and James McNicholas and Amy Lawrence here on Hand Break Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic.

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They get a humbric off and you can see that they are more free to play. On to the semi-finals, PSG. Some game that was as well, by the way, against Villa. Unreal. Yeah, well, it is the Champions League and, you know, when it gets to this stage, you know, because I remember sitting there watching us in the group stages. Was it against, was it Shakhtar or was it... Yeah, at that group. Really?

Yeah, dull, weird games when you're like, yeah, that was

That was all right. But we're playing all that to get to this. And at this point, the drama is real. The first leg's Tuesday, April 29th. Is that the night that Adrian said he was going to snooker? I can't remember. Oh. I genuinely can't remember. I feel like he wanted it to be Wednesday. I think it might be right as well. Well, you know, I just say, hey, it's funny in every way. And then the second leg away. So once again, we have to play the away leg. Second away.

away at Parc des Princes on the 7th of May. Well, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing because when we think back to the first leg for the Real Madrid games, I think being at the Emirates first probably helped quite a bit because it meant that Arsenal were the ones who could set the tone

both players and fans and you kind of set your stall out that way. You're the ones that are kind of imposing yourselves on the game. So,

I would try to maybe take a similar approach to the semifinals. Be the ones who really kind of leave your mark first rather than wanting to take something back to your house. Come and get us. Come and get us, basically. See what you can do when we're 2-3-0 up. That will be some occasion. It's the first time since 2018 that the four teams in the semifinals all come from different countries.

Inter playing Barcelona in the other one. And I know we were asking about favourites. Apparently, we have the highest probability of winning the Champions League, according to Opta. 28.7, Inter 25.5, PSG 24, Barcelona 21.8. I mean, that Barcelona team look awesome as well. And as you said, first time in the semifinals in 16 years when we lost 2-0.

to Manchester United. Was that the one where Manuel Almunia dived under that shot from Cristiano Ronaldo? Yeah, Ronaldo's free kick from about 50 yards out. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. In fact, the only funny moment that night was when Darren Fletcher got sent off

off and he went down the tunnel and we were all going you're not going to Rome you're not going to Rome and Gary Neville was looking at us he was so he was helping him down the tunnel he just looked at us with hatred oh my god that's where it started oh probably not started that's where it started that's right it was our fault oh well there you go yeah by the way Arsenal are first in terms of number of games in the Champions League without winning it

199 games, but that may well change in the next month and a half. Jeez, we've got Ipswich away on Sunday.

I'm going to be, I'll watch it, right? Of course I'll watch it. We beat them, no I will. I mean, it'd be amazing to be in the away end. I'd love to be in the away end just to greet the team, to be honest. What are we doing? I mean, Ipswich are a team that, I mean, they look like they're going to get relegated. We're going to, we'll probably play a bit like the line-up we did against Brentford, right? Yeah, I think so. Give most of the starters a well-deserved rest. Yes. Keep them in

in cotton ball i guess the only one where you don't really need to do that with us thomas partay i guess uh probably you know it's a big loss for us thomas yeah it's again you know what we're talking about ipswich but we're not talking about ipswich we're talking about the champions league now because that's all that matters right i mean obviously we want to get in the top four or five but we think we will yeah and just looking at the kind of scheduling so it's ipswich on the weekend and

Then it's three day turnaround for Crystal Palace at home. And then you've got a week break before the PSG game. So I think we've got a weekend off. Yes. So I think Crystal Palace is probably the game where you want to give the starters for the PSG game a bit of kind of rhythm and stuff. So yeah, rest versus Ipswich and then get them back in for Palace. All right. Do you know, I haven't got a song. I mean, I mean, can we just chat? I, you know what happened? I,

because I got up at 4.30 in the morning to watch this game and it's absolutely insane I've been gigging I've been running about and I came back here and obviously I wanted to do this and I just haven't had a moment and also because I've watched like a thousand replays already of the game your brain's fried yeah

A little bit fried. I'm just about to go out and do three gigs, by the way, this evening. And I don't know what I'm going to say to them. I'm just going to, I don't know, just going to start singing Arsenal songs to them. So I'll choose any song from any player. I don't really mind. The Mikkel Marino song. What a great song that is. I love it. I mean, and I'm so pleased for him for the way it's gone. What have you got? Have you got a song? Yeah, yeah. I had two in mind. So the first one,

Was back-to-back by Drake that would be dedicated to Declan Rice for his back-to-back Man of the Match Awards Amazing amazing the second one. I don't know if this would be allowed

Be allowed? What have you, what? The abbreviation is STFU, which I think most people can probably understand. That's by Yeet as well, by the way. So he makes a return. But that's dedicated. What a lovely sentiment. Is that a love song? That's dedicated to all the talk that Real Madrid are doing. All the Real Madrid fans. Yeah, have that. We was that same, man. Shut your mouth, shut your, shut your, glow. I keep telling you.

It was so good to see them crying. Like when the TV cameras panned round and it was like, it was a weird realisation that Arsenal were the ones that were doing that to them. We've done that to you lads. We've done it. It was beautiful, wasn't it? And they were still arguing on Spanish telly two hours later. Yeah, I saw a few bits. Absolutely hilarious. Yes, S-T-F-U. Assuming that they get the idea of the acronym. Assuming they know what, you know, if they understand acronym. I'm sure they understand what it is in Spanish. Well...

Thanks, Art. Thanks for actually sitting with me. It was nice to see you as opposed to the others who are jetting back. Yeah, we might do a live one from Paris if some of us go over there at some point. We'll see what we can do because we go to Paris for the semi-final. Could have been Birmingham. Honestly, we would have lucked out there.

it wouldn't have been quite so glamorous, I would say, Birmingham for the semi final of the Champions League. But, yeah, we're going to Paris. But we'll talk to you after Ipswich. But I was going to say, have a good day, Guinness, but you know. You will, though, won't you? Thanks to Robbie, our producer. Thanks to Art. And thanks to Amy and James and Adrian for their voice notes. And we'll speak to you soon. Ta-ra.