“Some of the best teams in the world fall apart here” — Arteta proud as Arsenal leave Metropolitano with 1-1 draw

"I'm very proud, I said that to the boys. We've handled any kind of context for nine and a half months, which is remarkable. I really value what they’ve done because I've seen some of the best teams in the world fall apart here.

"We didn't get the result that we wanted. The way we planned the game, we wanted to win it, but at least it's in our hands, in front of our people, to be in that final. And in a week’s time, we're going to have the opportunity to do so."

Arteta reserved praise for goalscorer Gyokeres, who came back into the side for the injured Kai Havertz.

The Swedish striker has had his critics during a mixed debut campaign, but produced an impressive performance in Madrid.

"I think he had a very strong first half, especially when we were more dominant. He created the goal and the penalty, and he was ice-cool to score it in the manner that he did.

"The second half changed a little bit, credit to them, but there are a lot of things that we need to do much, much, much better, and I think then we had to change. I think the game changed as well, and we ended up finishing on top."