'Arteta deserves credit for another memorable night in Europe'
- Published
It was hard to imagine that Arsenal were going to be able to produce a performance that would be better than the first leg - but this game came close.
The Gunners had a clear remit to not get dragged into the emotion created by the Bernabeu crowd.
Bukayo Saka had the perfect chance to silence the home support after Raul Asencio pulled down Mikel Merino but made an uncharacteristically poor choice from the spot, allowing Thibaut Courtois to save his chip with ease.
But Mikel Arteta's side were never in serious danger of losing the match by such a margin that would see them knocked out.
The Gunners have not lost by a four-goal margin since a 4-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield in November 2021.
And it is 100 games since they conceded more than twice - a 4-3 win at Luton in December 2023.
Arteta deserves credit too for the way he has overcome a number of injuries to key players and led his side to score five past Real without a recognised striker.