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Arsenal have won over two of their biggest critics in Adrian Durham and Gabby Agbonlahor, who have backed them for European glory. The Gunners put in an almost flawless display over two legs to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals, beating Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate. After a memorable 3-0 win at the Emirates in their quarter-final first leg, Mikel Arteta's side refused to buckle under pressure in the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu. Goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli either side of a Vinicius Jr equaliser gave Arsenal a 2-1 victory over the 15-time competition champions, who were totally nullified. And the north Londoners' convincing performances in both games has left two of their fiercest critics reconsidering their views. Before the first leg clash, Agbonlahor cast doubt over the Gunners' chances of winning on talk SPORT Breakfast. With key defender Gabriel ruled out for the rest of the season, the former Aston Villa star warned Arsenal fan and content creator Joel Beya that replacement centre-back Jakub Kiwior would be unable to handle the pace of Madrid's attacking players. But with Kiwior and the rest of the defence restricting their opponents to scraps in both matches, a jubilant Beya returned to the Breakfast show to remind Agbonlahor of his earlier comments. And the Villa icon smiled as he admitted his error of judgement, before backing Arteta's side to win the competition. He said: “I am sorry to Arsenal fans, you are a top team and you will win the Champions League. " Agbonlahor then joked: “Listen, Kiwior is one of the quickest players in the league! ", before adding: "Outstanding performance though. " But the Gunners' biggest endorsement came from an even more staunch critic, with talk SPORT's Adrian Durham joining Agbonlahor in giving Arteta's side their flowers. Durham has long been famed for his frequent rants about Arsenal, previously hosting his infamous 'Daily Arsenal' show, where he was known to pick apart everything he deemed wrong with the north London outfit. But their Champions League exploits left quite the impression on him, with Durham labelling the second-leg display a turning point for the club. He told talk SPORT Breakast: “I think it was a coming of age for Arsenal. “They put on a show, they put on a display. They didn't just get the job done. They won the game, winning both legs. “That, to me, is a big statement from Mikel Arteta. His side have grown up. “Listen, it's been five and a half years in the making for Mikel Arteta. Not many managers are given that long. It's hopefully for Arsenal fans going to be worth the wait. “They sure enjoyed themselves last night. ” Durham pointed to the shift in mentality in Arteta's side, who bounced back after Saka missed a first-half penalty, as the main reason he now believes they can achieve European glory. He continued: “What every player did was, they did their jobs properly. And the other thing about the Arsenal performance last night, there were setbacks along the way. “When you look at Bukayo Saka missing his penalty - are Arsenal going to go under if that happens? Real Madrid got a penalty and alright, it was overturned, but are they going to go under? Is it going to affect their mentality?   “They're made of stronger stuff these days, this Arsenal side. “And now is the first time I've really believed they can go all the way and win the Champions League. ” Despite his past criticism of the club, Durham was only too happy to heap praise on Arteta's side, admitting their performances will have alerted their European rivals, with the Gunners set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals. He added: “It is an amazing achievement. And let's not hide that. Let's not play that down. Because this is something special for Arsenal. “To go there and win that second leg, I felt they needed to do that in some ways, to make that statement. To make the rest of Europe sit up and take note, because they've got something special going on. “We saw that in the first leg. You have to back it up. And they did that in the Bernabeu last night. ” © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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