Real Madrid confidently called for a Bernabéu Remontada echoed their storied past, but pride swelled too soon. Arsenal, unfazed by the noise, silenced the giants with precision.

In the shadow of their own legend, Madrid fell. A proof that pride, when unchecked, often leads straight to the fall.

Despite their enormous success since the start of last season, Real Madrid found a way to tarnish it all in the span of a week of weakness by cheaply pushing their luck far too much in an already lost contest.

While leaving the Santiago Bernabeu after the defeat last night, a group of 40-50 fans were yelling at the Real Madrid and insulting them, saying their performance tonight was "a disgrace".

A little could be said of the angered fans, but more about the players themselves, who led the masses on to believing an almost impossible task will be achieved.

All week, Remondata was the talk in the media. 15 time winners of the UEFA Champions League could not live with a humiliating 3-0 loss at Arsenal, who were clearly the best team on the night by a country mile.

Although it wasn't an expected outcome, the fans could still have lived with it, knowing a better team has taken a deserved win, and potentially their slot in the last four of the competition, after all it is not the first time anyone has been eliminated.

However, the players turned themselves and the fans into bad losers. They led the world to believe they will achieve a comeback, right after full time, without taking time to process the defeat, what went wrong, and how they've been made to chase shadows all night.

The talk of Remontada quickly gained traction, and it became a media sensation. Asked what has been the most used word in the team's dressing room before the match, Jude Bellingham said it is 'Remontada'.

Despite conceding the fact that they were lucky to only lose by three goals in the first leg, how they'll overcome a much better team, they didn't know, but they seem sure they'll achieve a comeback.

Perhaps they thought the pressure will make Arsenal fold, but subconsciously, they invited the pressure on themselves as well, assuming the position of having it all to lose despite having nothing at stake.

Arsenal, although are not saints themselves, but have been trained to handle circumstances like this, and in recent years they've been unfazed. Even if they are have any doubt in their minds, the stunt pulled by Real Madrid all week is enough to inspire anyone, literally.

“Yeah, they’re a great team. We beat them at home, and we saw all the stuff that was going on social media, saying they were going to come back. We showed a great mentality tonight to come here, we showed our quality.” Bukayo Saka of Arsenal at full-time.

A little insight on what your opponent is on about could avoid an impending danger. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta have gone through a lot of training on vigilance, including the use of unconventional methods, to ensure they don't lose focus at anytime.

In the summer of last year, the Spanish tactician organized a party and hired a professional pickpocket to discreetly remove items of his players, such as phones and wallets, just to grind them on alertness at any point in time.

He will definitely not be happy with William Saliba for that Real Madrid goal, but who cares on a night like the one they had in the Bernabeu?

Knowing the man, you'll think that at some point, before kickoff of the second leg in the Bernabeu, that he showed his players all the Remontada talks by Real Madrid and the players, in order to motivate them to go all out for the win.

REMONTADA? How Naive Thou Art

Whilst they are not the best in the world, there are some things Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, pride itself in, and that can not disappear overnight.

It's been more than two years since Mikel Arteta's charge conceded more than two goals in a single game. Moreso, last team to score three against them was Luton Town in December 2023, and Arsenal still came out on top in a 4-3 win in Kenilworth Road.

78 games on, whilst they've also returned to the UEFA Champions League and faced some of the best teams in Europe, Arsenal has continued to grow, and most significantly in defence.

Three season is almost completed since they last lost a league game to any of the other members of the Premier League big six, safe the losses against Manchester City at the starting year. Mikel Arteta dig got a big result off the defending champions earlier in the year.

The only result that could have seen Arsenal lost the tie is a defeat by at least four goals, which they've not suffered since a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in Anfield in November 2021 – Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka are the only two Arsenal players in the starting XI on that day that also started at Real Madrid.

On the big stage, they have stood up for themselves, unlike in the latter days of Arsène Wenger to the early years of Mikel Arteta. Even after that Bukayo Saka's penalty miss, they kept their heads fixed, knowing the delicacy of their status at the time.

That was the Arsenal Real Madrid wanted to overcome a 3-0 first leg deficit against, leading on the fans to have faith in a cause that was meant to fail.

La REMONTADA; A Disgraceful Show Off 

Real Madrid prepared an intimidating setting in the Bernabeu for the arrival of Arsenal. They prepared a Tifo of a King with a crown on a chessboard. On the floor were cards with the colors of Atlético Madrid and Manchester City, teams they have knocked out of the competition this season.

For all their ego, it took almost ten minutes after the start of the second half before half before Real Madrid had their first shot on target, a tame effort easily dealt with by David Raya.

They had Thibaut Courtois to thank for his heroics over the two legs, but as was beaten three times in the first leg, the Belgian, who has earlier denied Bukayo Saka from the spot, could not deny the Arsenal sensation from opening the scoring, and silencing the Bernabeu all together towards the end of the third quarter.

It was a deserved goal for the visitors, who has looked more threatening all night. Spanish darling Mikel Merino slips a pass to Saka, who was kept onside by Valverde, then chips the ball over unrushing Courtois.

Out of nothing, Real Madrid scored their first and only goal of the tie less than two minutes after going behind. Vinicius Junior caught William Saliba in possession, and clipped the ball into an empty net.

The celebration showed Real remained adamant. But as it turned out, it was a mere consolation that was again taken from their grasp, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the final minute of added time to ensure Arsenal complete double in this fixture.

Set Up Carlo Ancelotti For Dragging

This has not been the best season for Real Madrid, but it's still the same Carlo Ancelotti, the manager who has won them the UEFA Champions League, title twice in the last four seasons.

Between the conquests in 2022 and 2024, they suffered an humiliating loss to Manchester City in the 2023 semi-finals, but it wasn't the end of the world. A year later, they overcame the same team to reach the final.

Perhaps it was because that defeat came in the second leg, but every true champion should understand not all contest ends in climax.

Arsenal was a force, much more fierce than Real Madrid, and it can be seen that the manager was only trying to follow the flow of a notion that was triggered by his players. Unfortunately, it has resulted in questioning of his tactics.

His Real Madrid days were already numbered, but this Champions League elimination may not have made that more obvious, had the team accepted the reality in front of them after the night.

Fans are now calling for the manager fired. A respected man is now being disrespected as a result of the immature display, and inability to accept defeat.

A Tough Road To Redemption 

To right their wrong, Real Madrid have to stay away from further wrong this season, but that may be farfetched, since they have tough fixtures lined up in the coming weeks.

The date with Athletic Club this weekend presents a tough test, while their league and Copa del Rey fate lie in their meetings with Barcelona, who have already thrashed them in their two meetings this season.

With eight games coming up before the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, Real Madrid can not afford any slip ups, and only then will they be able to restore lost dignity, before they return to the company of the heavyweights in the aforementioned competition in June.