Gabriel Martinelli expressed his elation after following in the footsteps of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry by scoring at the Bernabéu stadium in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Brazilian striker netted a late winner as Arsenal eliminated the defending champions 5-1 on aggregate to advance to the semifinals of the competition for the first time since 2009.
“It’s a dream to be experiencing this, to score here,” a proud Martinelli told TNT Sports.
Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer Henry had scored the only goal at the Bernabéu in the round-of-16 tie between Arsenal and Madrid in 2006.
Wednesday’s goal marked Martinelli’s second in the Champions League this season. Like his manager Mikel Arteta, Martinelli emphasized that eliminating the 15-time Champions League winners was a special achievement.
“It’s one of those nights that will stay with us forever,” he added.
“We know the opponents we’re up against, their history and tradition in the Champions League, and that makes what we’ve done even more valuable. Beating Real Madrid in one of the knockout games is something for very few people, and it shows the size of our shirt.
“We know the responsibility of representing Arsenal, and we were able to put that into practice to qualify.
“I’m very happy for the goal, for scoring it in the Bernabéu, which is a temple of football, and it’s certainly one of the most memorable chapters of my career… Henry also scored [at the Bernabéu] in his day, [Bukayo] Saka and I scored today.
“We came here with a mentality, we didn’t come here to hold on to the game. We had to stay calm at times, because of the pressure, how their team plays, to calm down a bit. But we came to win the game.”
Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals with the opening leg scheduled for April 29 at the Emirates Stadium.
PSG defeated Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate to reach the last four.
