Arsenal delivered a statement performance at the Emirates Stadium to blow away Real Madrid and take control of their Champions League quarter-final. Declan Rice’s free-kick brilliance will dominate the headlines, but this was a night where every part of Mikel Arteta’s team clicked into gear.
In what Mikel Arteta had called “the biggest game of his managerial career,” his side responded with their biggest performance under his tenure: a 3-0 demolition of European champions Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on a night of nerve, noise and mayhem at a raucous Emirates Stadium. It really doesn’t get any better than this.
In the fallout from the game, everyone has been talking about Declan Rice. And rightly so. His two stunning free-kicks were the moments of brilliance that cracked the game wide open. But this was a night when Arsenal delivered collectively. It was a complete performance on a truly special European evening for Arteta’s side, which is, unquestionably, the high point of his Arsenal reign to date.
First, a word about Rice. After going 338 games for West Ham and Arsenal (and 14 attempts) without scoring a direct free-kick, he slammed in two inside 13 minutes. And not just any two, either – a pair of absolute beauties. One bent with whip and curve around the wall; the other powered with postage-stamp perfection into the top corner. You couldn’t have placed the ball inside the goalframe with your hands and done a better job.
Rice is the first player in Champions League history to score two direct free-kick goals in a knockout-stage game. Only four others have scored more than one in a single Champions League match at all – Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Ziyech and Rivaldo.
It was a first-class all-round attacking performance from Rice. No player had more shots (5) or more touches in the opposition box (9) across both sides, as the Englishman truly loosened the shackles, bursting forward at will. His heat map from the game shows just how advanced and aggressive his positioning was.
Rice’s moments of exceptional individual skill set Arsenal on their way and he is rightly earning plaudits for that. But how about the man that won both the free-kicks, Bukayo Saka?
This was Saka’s first start since December after three months out following a hamstring injury. Arteta had carefully reintroduced him with two short substitute cameos in the games against Fulham and Everton leading up to this. Despite scoring on his return against Fulham, Saka did look undercooked and rusty, as you’d expect from someone who’s spent so long out with injury.
It was clear that Arsenal had always eyed this game as the one they’d target for Saka’s return. Starting from the off this time, the winger’s level was phenomenal. He was electric down the right, and a constant menace for Madrid left-back David Alaba all evening.
His fizzing cross across the face of goal in the first half showed he could go down the outside. Arguably, someone in red should have gambled and got on the end of it.
But his two most decisive moments came when cutting inside. With dribbles across the front of Madrid’s backline, Saka held onto the ball expertly before drawing fouls first from Alaba and then Eduardo Camavinga, showing exceptional strength, close control and decision making.
Without him, those moments of Rice brilliance simply don’t happen.
With Saka flying and Martin Ødegaard humming, Arsenal’s right side came alive again. The Arsenal captain completed 33 passes on the night, and 14 of them (42%) were to Saka. Just look at how often the Norwegian linked up with Saka in Arsenal’s pass matrix below.
Then there was Myles Lewis-Skelly. On a night when he became the second-youngest Englishman to start a Champions League quarter-final (18y, 194d) – behind Jude Bellingham – the teenager was outstanding.
Calm, confident and constantly looking to progress play, Lewis-Skelly had the third-most touches of any player on the pitch, and misplaced just three of his 57 passes. These were not just safe, sideways passes either. The England international completed a game-high 12 line-breaking passes as he constantly looked to progress Arsenal up the pitch from his inverted full-back position.
Defensively, he was his usual combative self, winning all of his tackles. It’s not normal for a teenager to be this good this quickly.
William Saliba was, as ever, composed and classy. That was no surprise. But all eyes were on Jakub Kiwior, with the Polish centre-half stepping in for the injured Gabriel Magalhães. Kiwior had a couple of uncomfortable moments against Everton, and Arsenal fans were certainly not thrilled about the prospect of Kylian Mbappé running at him all night. But he was aggressive and front-footed throughout the game, making several key recoveries.
The fact of the matter was that Arsenal kept a star-studded and top-heavy Madrid side scoreless, something that Madrid’s opponents have only been able to do once across their previous 14 games.
And lastly, the man who put the gloss on the performance: Mikel Merino. The definition of an unsung hero. Thrust into an unfamiliar number-nine role out of necessity with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz injured, the Spaniard continues to step up for his side. He’s now got six goals in his last 10 games.
His strike here – a brilliant finish from the edge of the area – might just turn out to be the most important of the lot. Rice’s free-kicks were the standout moments, but Merino’s goal ensured the scoreline reflected Arsenal’s dominance. The fact he played in La Liga with Real Sociedad for six years will make this all the more sweet.
He worked tirelessly defensively as well, making the most pressures (107) and most high-intensity pressures (66) of anyone in the game.
Arsenal’s win was the 12th time an English side has won by three or more goals in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie. Each of the previous 11 teams have gone through.
History is very much on their side ahead of the second leg in Madrid next week, and Arsenal fans will be dreaming of another European game like Tuesday: one where all the pieces of the puzzle clicked together.
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