In a tense Champions League game, with the score close and chances for both sides, it felt like the match could go either way. But then, a truly world-class player stepped up and changed everything. Suddenly, the game was wide open, and one team was clearly better than the other.
Tonight, Declan Rice played that role, usually filled by players like Vinicius Junior.
Rice has now cemented his place in Arsenal history. On what might be the most memorable night at their home stadium, his free kicks – yes, two of them – defeated the giants of European football, Real Madrid. Real Madrid is known for comebacks, but the 57,000 fans in the stadium were too excited to believe that would happen tonight.
This victory is full of drama, just like many of Real Madrid`s wins over the years. For days, Madrid has been worried about Arsenal`s dangerous set pieces. Before the game, when Thibaut Courtois was asked questions by reporters, two of the first five were about how his team would handle Arsenal`s aerial attacks. The fear was so strong you almost wanted to tell them, “Gabriel isn`t even playing!”
That might have calmed Madrid`s nerves a bit, because Arsenal is usually dangerous from wide free kicks and corners, but not so much from direct free kicks. Before tonight, Arsenal hadn`t scored a direct free kick goal since September 2021. While Rice had been good at hitting corners, he had never scored a free kick before.
So, when Bukayo Saka was fouled by David Alaba, and Rice stood over the ball with Saka, nobody really expected much. Courtois, Madrid`s goalkeeper, looked ready for anything. It seemed like it wouldn`t matter how well Rice hit it.
But then, the crowd in the West Stand started to get excited. No one could believe what they were seeing as Rice scored. As he celebrated, sliding on his knees, it still felt unreal. This season has been full of surprises, maybe VAR would disallow it, or something else would go wrong.
Then, everyone looked at the big screens and gasped. The applause was huge, the kind you give when you take a big lead against the kings of Europe. It felt like Beckham`s famous free kick against Greece, or Roberto Carlos` amazing goal in Le Tournoi. For years, kids in North London will try to copy Rice`s free kicks.
Especially because he did it again! This time, Courtois was ready for the curling shot that went around the wall and into the near post. But he wasn`t ready for the powerful shot that went straight into the top corner on the other side of the goal.
Arsenal`s two-goal lead was well-deserved. They took the lead and kept attacking. From the moment Rice scored the first goal, they wanted more. Their pressing game became even stronger. Myles Lewis-Skelly pushed forward even more. Madrid looked scared as Arsenal almost scored two more goals. Even though it’s only halftime in the tie, Arsenal should feel very confident going into the locker room, especially after Merino scored a third goal.
Arsenal knew that once they got ahead, they could stay there. They had made a few mistakes in the first half that gave chances to Kylian Mbappe, but if they fixed those, Madrid wouldn`t have much of a chance. In the second half, Madrid had as few total shots as Rice had free kicks. Perhaps the most telling moment for the next game in Madrid was when Vinicius got the ball, looked up, saw Arsenal defenders Timber and Saliba ahead of him, and decided to pass the attack to someone else.
Arsenal had intimidated their opponents, changing the Champions League tie in their favor, maybe for good. They had some luck but also showed incredible quality when it mattered. Isn`t that exactly what Real Madrid usually does?
Benedict Kingsley