1 week Ago
When the stadium was opened in 2006, fans were promised big European nights watching the best players in the world facing off on a regular basis. The first happened when Barcelona were beaten 2-1 in 2011 - and we’ve had to wait a long time since for another. Real Madrid are the holders, the club that has won the competition in six of the past 11 years, the team with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham.
Yet from the first 15 minutes there was a sense that Arsenal could find a way to win. Mikel Arteta made two big selection calls, sticking with Jakub Kiwior at the back, filling in for the injured Gabriel, and Mikel Merino up top after taking to his new role admirably. Both calls proved to be spot-on.
But arguably, Arteta’s biggest and best call in recent years was the pursuit of Rice. He courted him for months while he was at West Ham United and leading them to a Europa Conference League win, convincing him of Arsenal’s bright future, fending off interest from rivals Manchester City and paying £105 million to get the deal over the line. Rice was signed with nights like this in mind, and he stepped up in a way nobody could’ve imagined.
The Gunners scarcely score from direct free-kicks and Rice hadn’t scored one in his whole career. Yet in the space of 13 minutes Rice powered in two moments of magic. The first free-kick just before the hour curled around Real's defensive wall, exploiting the tiniest of gaps to give Arsenal the lead.
And Rice fired in an even better second free-kick right into the top corner - a goal no keeper in world football would’ve saved. Merino then completed the dream night, curling a difficult finish into the bottom corner to give the Gunners a statement victory and significant lead in the tie. After a home Premier League derby with Brentford on Saturday (5.
30pm), Arsenal travel to the Bernabeu for the second leg on Wednesday. Football is a crazy game as this tie has already shown, but the Gunners now have a huge chance to make it to the semi-finals..
