BUKAYO SAKA’S tunnel battle with Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal was not the first time they had clashed, with a feud between the pair dating back NINE months.
Saka, 23, and Carvajal, 33, collided at half-time during Arsenal’s incredible 2-1 win at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The result saw Mikel Arteta’s Gunners set up a Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain with a 5-1 aggregate victory.
And Saka was front and centre in the Spanish capital as his goal helped pave the way to glory.
However, the first half saw Arsenal’s star winger fluff his lines from the penalty spot.
Saka attempted a Panenka chip which was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
And this incensed Real Madrid icon Carvajal, who was not in the squad due to injury.
As the teams headed down the tunnel at half-time, Real’s right-back confronted Saka before grabbing his neck in heated scenes.
Arsenal’s key man went on to have the last laugh as he netted a 65th minute opener, with Gabriel Martinelli sealing victory on the night in the third minute of stoppage time.
But it has now come to light that Saka and Carvajal do have history on the pitch.
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Their beef dates back a whole nine months to the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.
Both players lined up for their respective nations in the crunch showdown, which Spain won 2-1 with an 86th minute decider.
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But just 20 minutes into the final, Saka and Carvajal collided on the field.
A mazy run from England’s right-sider saw him go down under pressure from his Spanish opponent.
The referee did not judge it to be a foul, despite Saka’s protests.
Indeed, the winger even called for a booking after Carvajal’s cynical challenge.
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Carvajal had clearly not forgotten the incident as he tried to wind Saka up on Wednesday.
But the veteran’s antics did not result in Saka losing his cool.
And the rest is history after Arsenal’s star player guided them to the last four of Europe.
Fans reacted to their tunnel clash last night.
One said: “Carvajal aggravating Saka at halftime.”
Another declared: “Playing mind gamesssss.”
One noted: “Does he know his team are losing 3-0?”
Another added: “You are getting [are] destroyed, hence you make a fuss off the pitch. It’s so embarrassing LMAO.”
[boxout headline=”Arsenal ratings v Real Madrid” featured-image=”34509615″ intro=”ARSENAL’S heroes dumped the Kings of Europe out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion.”]The Gunners went to the Bernabeu with a 3-0 lead after the first leg at the Emirates.
Bukayo Saka missed an early penalty, but made amends by chipping over Courtois to make it 4-0 on aggregate on 65 minutes.
Two minutes later, Vinicius Junior pounced on a dawdling William Saliba to fire into an empty net and give Real a glimmer of hope.
But not only did Arsenal hold on, Gabriel Martinelli scored on the counter-attack in injury time to round off a famous 5-1 aggregate win over the reigning champions.
Read how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated Arteta’s men from his seat inside the Bernabeu…