around 1:00 a.m. The last metro passengers pass through Puerta del Sol, unaware that just a few meters away is the hotel of last night’s winners, Arsenal, who spent the post-match night in their lair at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Madrid’s Plaza de Canalejas.
Only a few fans crowded the hotel exit. And they weren’t English. ” Our fans don’t usually come where the players are. They respect that privacy,” an Arsenal employee told us, already inside the club.
Indeed. The players weren’t seen in the lobby and instead prostrated themselves on the team floor of this hotel, where a night’s stay costs no less than 1,000 euros. There was measured euphoria among the Gunners. “It’s incredible that we beat Real Madrid 5-1, but we want the Champions League,” we heard from inside the club, which barely reached its third Champions League semi-final last night.
The team’s managers did fly to London last night, led by Josh Kroenke, son of Stan, the club’s American owner. The synergy between the Kroenkes and Mikel is complete, one of the keys to the project’s growth.
Arsenal depart for London this Thursday morning. They have a Premier League match this weekend (Ipswich) and next week (Wednesday against Palace). They then have almost a week to face the first semi-final against PSG (Tuesday). It will be another step in the process for Mikel Arteta, who yesterday reigned supreme at the Bernabéu… but who doesn’t want to stop there.
We left the hotel after 1:30 a.m. Arsenal felt like kings for a day, but with much more to conquer.