“Vinicius Jr’s reaction on the field when Bukayo Saka approached to shake his hand following Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid.”

Real Madrid’s hopes of turning their tie around against Arsenal were dashed at the Santiago Bernabeu.

 

The Galacticos needed to overcome a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Gunners on Wednesday night, with many fans believing a comeback was possible.

 

However, goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, either side of Vinicius Junior’s goal, ensured Arsenal won 2-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.

 

With this result, Saka and his teammates advanced to the semi-finals, while Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid’s dream of retaining the Champions League came to an end.

 

When Saka approached Vinicius after the match to shake his hand, things took an unexpected turn. Saka had a mixed performance, starting strong by troubling David Alaba, who received a yellow card for fouling him. However, Saka’s Panenka penalty was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois. In the second half, he found his rhythm again, scoring a beautiful goal past Courtois to open the scoring.

 

Vinicius pulled one back for Real Madrid, but Martinelli sealed Arsenal’s victory with a brilliant strike late in the game.

 

After the final whistle, Saka was seen walking over to Vinicius to shake his hand. Just as Saka was about to leave, Vinicius asked him for a shirt swap. Saka agreed, and the two exchanged shirts before parting ways.

 

Saka and Vinicius have a mutual respect for each other. Both wingers are key players for their clubs and countries, having delivered many crucial goals.

 

In the summer of 2019, while Unai Emery was in charge, Arsenal attempted to sign Vinicius Jr, but Real Madrid was not willing to let him go. This turned out to be a wise decision by Florentino Perez and the Real Madrid management.