Gunners Blazing - Andrea Berta and Diego Simeone in Touchline Feud Following Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

Berta and Simeone Get Into it During Gunners' Win

Arsenal sporting director, Andrea Berta, and Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone were involved in a touchline fracas amidst the two club's Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday night.

With Atletico's elimination from the competition looming in the late stages of the match, with Arsenal leading 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium, the tension in the air became palpable and Berta was confronted by the Argentinian manager in the dugouts.

Berta 😭 pic.twitter.com/qF52NBdkVX

— ★ (@sivvlp) May 5, 2026

Simeone was clocked approaching Berta, who had also made his way to the touchline waving his arms at the referee, protesting that the allotted added time had elapsed and that the full-time whistle should blow.

Simeone, irritated by the antics, pushed Berta to precede a melee between the staff and substitutes present for both sides, just a few short moments before the final whistle arrived to confirm Arsenal's place in the Champions League final and Atletico Madrid's exit at the semi-final stage.

Arsenal Reach the Champions League Final

Simeone's fracas went on deaf ears in the end, as his Atletico Madrid side were unable to halt Arsenal from reaching their first Champions League final for 20 years in a 2-1 aggregate victory, earned on the night thanks to a goal from Bukayo Saka in the first half.

The tie was up in the air going into the clash at the Emirates, with it following a tense 1-1 first-leg draw at the Estadio Metropolitano - the Gunners had led that match through a Viktor Gyokeres penalty, which was cancelled out later on by another spot-kick from former Manchester City star Julian Alvarez.

They will play either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the showpiece finale, having lost to Paris in last year’s semis and beaten Bayern in this year’s league phase.

Look at how insufferable Arteta is man trying to get the ball and time waste then literally almost running onto the pitch 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/UrgsNUgcSv

— Danis (@DanisMCFC) May 5, 2026

Arteta and his side could have taken a lead back to North London with them, with the referee awarding the Gunners a penalty in the late stages after Eberechi Eze was felled in the area by defender David Hancko, but VAR stepped in to overrule the decision claiming that Eze had gone down before contact with the Slovakian was made.

After Tuesday night's win, Arsenal have reached the Champions League final which will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest later this month.

They will face off with either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final showdown, having been defeated by PSG in last year's semi-final affair and also having defeated Bayern in the league phase of this campaign.

🚨 NEW: Arsenal fans say goodbye to Diego Simeone after he intentionally stepped on Arsenal’s badge on his way out. But no Arsenal players or staff cared about it. pic.twitter.com/7lm3zbCViE

— RazedFootball (@RazedFootball) May 5, 2026

PSG are looking to become the first side to retain the Champions League title, having defeated Inter 5-0 in last year's final to win their first crown, since Real Madrid's immortal 'three-peat' under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018.

Before then, the last retainment of the title came from AC Milan who won it in 1989 and 1990, and before then it was Nottingham Forest, who secured back-to-back wins in 1979 and 1980.