Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta showered praise on Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres after they qualified for the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in 20 years. The Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid by 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday after Bukayo Saka scored at the stroke of half time.

Arteta’s team registered a 2-1 aggregate win against the Spanish team. Saka was able to capitalise on the defensive lapse from the visitors to put his team in front. Eventually, his goal was enough to knock out Atletico Madrid out of the competition.

“It had to be someone very special and certainly he is very special with me and the boys and everyone attached with this club,” Arteta told Amazon Prime. “If it had to be someone scoring that goal, it probably had to be him.”

The Spaniard coach admitted he felt emotional for the players, who could not make it to the final XI and were benched.

“It was very difficult to make certain decisions and I feel a lot for the boys,” the Gunners boss added. “I know generally how good people they are and some of them, I talked to them this afternoon and apologised and said ‘I’m going to play the same team’ and the reaction immediately was ‘boss, I’m here when you need me’ and they gave me a hug.” 

Arteta was all praise for Viktor Gyokeres after the Swedish player delivered an impressive performance.

“He was immense,” Arteta noted. “You can see the reaction from the crowd every time he had the ball, his work rate and what he’s giving the team is just incredible. You talk about Gyokeres and he’s the first one to set the tone, the rhythm, and the habits that he shows when we don’t have it [the ball] and that’s a team effort.”

Arsenal will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final.