Spanish media offered a mix of admiration and frustration after Arsenal’s win over Real Madrid, praising Mikel Arteta’s tactical discipline while lamenting Madrid’s lack of ideas, identity, and leadership.
In the aftermath of Arsenal’s 5–1 aggregate dismantling of Real Madrid, the Spanish media did not reach for excuses. Instead, it surrendered, not just to the result, but to the superiority of Mikel Arteta’s side.
Across national titles from AS to Marca to Córdoba, a rare agreement emerged: Arsenal were the better team, and Madrid, by contrast, a side out of answers and out of time.
From Córdoba, the tone was sobering: “Ni un atisbo de remontada” – “Not even a hint of a comeback.”
The match report lays bare the scale of the defeat and the maturity shown by Arsenal in hostile territory. “The reigning champions were eliminated by a team full of personality,” the piece reads, “one that never trembled under pressure.”
The Bernabéu, so often a cathedral of chaos and comebacks, provided no sanctuary for the home side this time. “There was no football and no leadership,” it declares of Madrid, describing the atmosphere as impotent and the squad as adrift.
The writer singles out Bukayo Saka, who recovered from a missed Panenka penalty in the first half to calmly chip home Arsenal’s opening goal, sealing the tie with ruthless simplicity.
Meanwhile, William Saliba’s error to gift Vinícius a goal is framed as little more than a blemish, the tie, already over.
Even Kylian Mbappé, injured and ineffective, is reduced to a subplot in Arsenal’s masterclass.
In AS, the headline struck a bolder tone: “Y al Arsenal no le asustó el Bernabéu” – “And Arsenal weren’t afraid of the Bernabéu.”
The article opens with a brutal truth: “A remontada is nothing more than a glorious excuse for a colossal disaster.” It positions Real Madrid’s exit as not only deserved, but inevitable.
The writer, Luis Nieto, methodically dismisses the mystique of the stadium, the crowd, the legacy.
This time, none of it mattered.
Arteta’s blueprint is highlighted as decisive: “He didn’t change anything, nor did he need to.”
Nieto also credits Arteta’s side for what he calls their “veteranía gunner” – their poise, game management, and ability to shut the game down with intelligent possession. It’s a far cry from the common narrative of Arsenal as a technically good but emotionally vulnerable team. Here, they are cast as ice-cold professionals who not only withstood Madrid’s ‘chaos’ but mastered it.
In contrast, Carlo Ancelotti’s minor tweaks couldn’t mask his team’s flaws. AS praises the cohesion and composure of Arsenal, noting that they “disconnected Madrid from their public” and frustrated them into submission.
Merino’s performance is lauded for bringing “order to chaos,” and Martinelli’s late goal seen as “the final blow.”
Perhaps most damning is the assessment of VAR. While the coverage claims the officiating was poor, with both teams awarded and denied penalties in confusing fashion, it ultimately returns to one inescapable truth: “El Arsenal no se asustó.” They weren’t overawed. They weren’t overwhelmed. They were in control.
And then comes Marca, where José María Rodríguez delivers perhaps the clearest editorial verdict: “El rey abdica sin rozar la gloria” – “The king abdicates without even brushing glory.”
Rodríguez opens with a stark admission: “Real Madrid fell victim to their lack of football.” That line sets the tone. There are no excuses offered for the defeat, no mystique spun about missed moments or refereeing conspiracies. If anything, the writer goes to lengths to distance the performance from luck or injustice. “You can’t blame attitude or effort,” he notes, “but they looked powerless.”
Madrid were not unlucky; they were not undone by fate. They were outplayed.
“Arsenal is a fully deserving semi-finalist,” the article concludes, praising the organisation and intelligence of the English side.
Arteta is hailed for building a machine with “experience” and “maturity.” And while Courtois saved a penalty and Vinícius capitalised on a rare William Saliba mistake, the praise returns again and again to Arsenal’s grip on the game, not just on the night, but across both legs.
For Arsenal, the respect from Spain’s biggest footballing voices is historic in itself. This wasn’t an upset. It wasn’t a heist.
It was an arrival.
And Spain knows it.