Arsenal's astounding 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League was a "coming of age moment", and the Gunners must be viewed as serious contenders to win the competition.
That is the view of esteemed journalist Charles Watts, who was at the Bernabeu to witness Arsenal enjoy their most momentous evening of the Mikel Arteta era so far on Wednesday, where they took down Real Madrid on their own patch.
Carlo Ancelotti's players had talked up a remontada after their 3-0 first-leg loss, but Kylian Mbappe and co offered nothing while Arteta's men delivered a masterful collective display to set up a mouthwatering last-four clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Reflecting on Arsenal reaching the UCL semi-finals for the first time since 2009, Watts told Sports Mole: "Sounds very nice! It's very well deserved as well. Arsenal have been brilliant in the Champions League this season. It's not been the best of Premier League seasons, but in the Champions League, they've been very good.
"One blot on the copybook with the defeat at Inter Milan, even then they could easily come away with something from that game. Excellent in the league phase, excellent in the knockouts. But then what happened over the two legs against Real Madrid just took it up another level.
"To beat them 3-0 at home and then to go to the Bernabeu and double down on that and beat them there. 5-1, it's a remarkable scoreline. It's a coming of age moment. It's a statement sent across Europe. If anyone didn't think Arsenal were a serious team, they certainly do now.
"It was a performance which shows that they are ready to win the Champions League, they're more than good enough to. There were so many impressive things about the game and the two legs, but the way they dealt with everything, all the noise coming out of Madrid - the players, the fans, the media - they were just totally unfazed.
'Real Madrid shrunk as Arsenal got bigger'
"There was no fear factor, nothing. They just went out there, believed in themselves and got the job done in such an emphatic way. It was superb."
The Gunners had to survive an early scare in the Spanish capital when Mbappe's chested goal was ruled out for offside, before Bukayo Saka's attempted panenka penalty went disastrously wrong as Thibaut Courtois denied the Englishman from the spot.
The Belgian's save sparked a raucous reaction from the Bernabeu faithful, who maybe began to believe again when they were awarded a penalty of their own for Declan Rice's perceived foul on Mbappe, only for the referee to overturn the call following a lengthy VAR review.
Ancelotti's men subsequently found no way through Arsenal's extremely organised shape before Saka redeemed himself from the spot with a delicately dinked opener, although an uncharacteristic error from William Saliba allowed Vinicius Junior to equalise right away on the night.
However, the Brazilian's strike did not spark an insane turnaround, and his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli raced away in added time to maintain Arsenal's 100% record at the Bernabeu, having also won there in their first meeting in 2006.
"As the game wore on, you could see the belief drain out of Real Madrid," Watts added. "They could just see that no matter what they attempted, how much they tried to get under Arsenal's skin, how many times they threw themselves on the floor or tried to provoke something, they could just see that it wasn't going to work.
"You could see Arsenal rise in stature, especially from the start of the second half. They just thought, 'yeah, this lot have got nothing, they're not going to get through us. We're better than them.' You could just see Madrid shrink and Arsenal get bigger and bigger.
Arsenal win over Real Madrid "the ultimate team performance"
© Imago
"That was so impressive. It was just the ultimate team performance. There were obviously brilliant individual performances, but from the team, David Raya, how calm and composed he was, how he came for crosses, the two centre-backs.
"Myles Lewis-Skelly, what more words can you say about him? Jurrien Timber, just an exceptional footballer. How they all just came together to produce this superb team performance. I'm so happy Gabriel Martinelli got that goal at the end so Arsenal won on the night, because they absolutely deserved to.
"I wouldn't have lost any sleep about it, but it would have been a real shame had it been 1-1 and Arsenal not got the actual victory on the night itself. I was delighted that he put the perfect gloss on a brilliant day."
Arsenal now have a little under two weeks to prepare for a mouthwatering semi against PSG, whom they comfortably overcame 2-0 at the Emirates during the league phase, where Luis Enrique's side were at risk of an embarrassing early exit.
The Ligue 1 champions have since turned a corner in the competition, dumping out Liverpool and Aston Villa after a 10-0 aggregate annihilation of Brest in the knockout playoffs, as Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola thrive in the final third.
Midfield maestro Vitinha and goalkeeping hero Gianluigi Donnarumma have also been lauded as among the best in the world in their respective positions, but their limitations were exposed in their 3-2 second-leg loss to Villa in the final eight.
As a result, Watts has affirmed that Arsenal have nothing at all to fear for the remainder of the Champions League, where Barcelona or Inter Milan will be their final opponents if they can overcome PSG over two legs.
Arsenal have "nothing to fear" in PSG semi-final
© Imago
Asked if Arsenal must now be considered serious contenders for the crown, Watts replied: "They have to be. They're in the semi-finals, so absolutely. Every single team that is left will be looking at Arsenal and see them as a threat.
"Arsenal comfortably beat PSG this season already; I know PSG now are a very different animal to the one that they were when they turned up at the Emirates. There was no Dembele that night. They've brought in Kvaratskhelia since then. Attacking wise, they just look a completely different outfit to the one that Arsenal dismantled. It was such a comfortable win.
"But that will give Arsenal a lot of confidence and will put a seed of doubt in PSG's mind, they know they've come to the Emirates before this season and been comfortably beaten. Physically, Arsenal absolutely dominated PSG on that night. It was a men against boys type performance.
"The ones that we used to see Arsenal be on the reverse of when they'd come up against Chelsea or Manchester City. It felt like Arsenal were patting PSG on their heads and saying, 'come on, little boys, come on, keep up.'
"That's not going to happen this time around. It's going to be a really difficult two legs for Arsenal, especially with the second leg away from home. But they won't fear it. You've knocked the European champions out, beaten them home and away. There's nothing left to fear in this competition. There'll be a hell of a lot of respect for the teams that are left, but they'll believe that they can win it."
The first leg of Arsenal's semi-final against PSG takes place at the Emirates on Tuesday, April 29, eight days before Arteta's men travel to the Parc des Princes for the return fixture.
Before UCL matters take priority again, the Gunners scrap with Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, before also hosting Crystal Palace in a London derby next Wednesday evening.
Ben Knapton
