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Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.

Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.

“We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win,” Declan Rice, who netted two stunning free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports.

“It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club… we want to win this competition.”

Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence.

The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.

“It’s a difficult moment… it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,” Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.

“We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job.”

Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.

Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.

Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.

Saka penalty saved

Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.

It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him.

However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.

The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.

For all of Madrid’s bluster the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half.

Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.

The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.

Four goals ahead in the tie Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.

Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.

Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.

Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.

“We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win,” Declan Rice, who netted two stunning free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports.

“It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club… we want to win this competition.”

Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence.

The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.

“It’s a difficult moment… it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,” Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.

“We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job.”

Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.

Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.

Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.

Saka penalty saved

Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.

It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him.

However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.

The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.

For all of Madrid’s bluster the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half.

Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.

The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.

Four goals ahead in the tie Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.

Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.

Newcastle soared into third in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace to close in on a return to the Champions League next season.

Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak were on target for the Magpies, with Marc Guehi also scoring an own goal, as Newcastle made light of the absence of manager Eddie Howe due to pneumonia.

A sixth consecutive victory in all competitions opens up a five-point lead for Newcastle over sixth-placed Chelsea, with a place in the top five good enough for Champions League qualification.

Palace remain down in 12th with their season now fully focused on an FA Cup semi-final date with Aston Villa later this month.

Newcastle travel to Villa on Saturday in a huge clash in the battle for European places.

But the League Cup winners are pulling away from the chasing pack for a top-five finish, buoyed by ending their 70-year wait for domestic silverware last month.

Isak wasted two big early chances to open the scoring when he was firstly denied by a fine Dean Henderson save and then headed over from Murphy’s enticing cross.

Newcastle only had to wait until the 14th minute to open the scoring when Murphy blasted in a remarkable finish from a narrow angle.

Palace were gifted the chance to get back into the game when goalkeeper Nick Pope rushed off his line and wiped out Chris Richards in his attempt to punch the ball clear.

After a lengthy VAR check, a penalty was finally awarded.

However, Eberechi Eze’s lackadaisical spot-kick was easily collected by the relieved Pope.

Within a minute, Newcastle had doubled their lead when Guehi turned into his own net as he attempted to block Barnes’ cross towards Isak.

The England defender has been regularly linked with a move to Tyneside and has now scored an own goal in each of Palace’s two meetings with Newcastle this season.

It went from bad to worse for the visitors as Barnes continued his fine form with a composed finish for his fourth goal in three games.

Murphy’s free-kick was then flicked in by Schar to make it 4-0 before the break.

The normally lethal Isak continued to be frustrated in front of goal as Henderson spread himself to deny another effort from point-blank range early in the second half.

Newcastle soared into third in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace to close in on a return to the Champions League next season.

Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak were on target for the Magpies, with Marc Guehi also scoring an own goal, as Newcastle made light of the absence of manager Eddie Howe due to pneumonia.

A sixth consecutive victory in all competitions opens up a five-point lead for Newcastle over sixth-placed Chelsea, with a place in the top five good enough for Champions League qualification.

Palace remain down in 12th with their season now fully focused on an FA Cup semi-final date with Aston Villa later this month.

Newcastle travel to Villa on Saturday in a huge clash in the battle for European places.

But the League Cup winners are pulling away from the chasing pack for a top-five finish, buoyed by ending their 70-year wait for domestic silverware last month.

Isak wasted two big early chances to open the scoring when he was firstly denied by a fine Dean Henderson save and then headed over from Murphy’s enticing cross.

Newcastle only had to wait until the 14th minute to open the scoring when Murphy blasted in a remarkable finish from a narrow angle.

Palace were gifted the chance to get back into the game when goalkeeper Nick Pope rushed off his line and wiped out Chris Richards in his attempt to punch the ball clear.

After a lengthy VAR check, a penalty was finally awarded.

However, Eberechi Eze’s lackadaisical spot-kick was easily collected by the relieved Pope.

Within a minute, Newcastle had doubled their lead when Guehi turned into his own net as he attempted to block Barnes’ cross towards Isak.

The England defender has been regularly linked with a move to Tyneside and has now scored an own goal in each of Palace’s two meetings with Newcastle this season.

It went from bad to worse for the visitors as Barnes continued his fine form with a composed finish for his fourth goal in three games.

Murphy’s free-kick was then flicked in by Schar to make it 4-0 before the break.

The normally lethal Isak continued to be frustrated in front of goal as Henderson spread himself to deny another effort from point-blank range early in the second half.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was told by manager Ruben Amorim on Monday that he is “not going anywhere” despite reports of a possible move to Real Madrid.

The 30-year-old Portuguese star, who has scored 95 goals in 277 appearances since joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, has a contract at Old Trafford until 2027.

However, he has been linked in recent days with a £90 million (107.4 million euros) switch to Spanish giants Real.

“No, it’s not going to happen”, insisted Amorim.

“I want Bruno here because maybe in the lowest moments of our season (he impressed). We want to win the Premier League again, so we want the best players to continue with us”.

READ ALSO: There Is ‘ Different Energy ‘ At Man Utd After Mini-Revival, Says Amorim

Amorin added: “He’s 29, I think, but he’s still so young because he plays 55 games every season. Between assists and goals, he’s there for 30 at least so he’s the type of player we want here so he’s not going anywhere”.

“We are in control of the situation and I feel that he is really happy here”.

Donald Trump said Monday he hopes Tiger Woods and his former daughter-in-law will be happy together in their relationship, describing the golf superstar as “a fantastic guy”.

Woods — renowned for guarding his private life over the years — last week confirmed tabloid rumors that he was dating Vanessa Trump, who split from Donald Trump Jr. during his father’s first term in the Oval Office.

The US president told reporters in Washington on Monday he was delighted that she had found love again.

READ ALSO: ‘ Love Is In The Air’: Woods Confirms Vanessa Trump Romance

“Tiger actually called me a few months ago, and we have a very special, very good relationship with Tiger”, he said.

“I played golf with him a couple of times over the last month, and he’s a fantastic guy and a fantastic athlete, &nbsp, and he told me about it, and I said ‘ Tiger, that’s good, ‘” Trump continued.

“I’m very happy for both, I just, let them both be happy. &nbsp, Let them both be happy. They’re both great”.

The presidential seal of approval comes after Woods took to social media to post photos of him and his new beau.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side”, he wrote in a caption above two pictures of the couple relaxing together.

Vanessa Trump, who divorced Donald Trump Jr. in 2018 after a 13-year marriage, also posted a picture of her and Woods together on her Instagram account in what appeared to be a coordinated announcement.

Woods ‘ private life was laid bare during the 2009 sex scandal that upended his career and led to the implosion of his six-year marriage to Elin Nordegren, the mother of his two children.

Nordegren and Woods separated amid revelations of the golf star’s serial infidelity, with reports suggesting he had slept with as many as 120 women during their marriage.