Declan Rice’s stock has never been higher at Arsenal after his brace of free-kicks against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Arsenal produced arguably the best result of Mikel Arteta’s tenure so far, thumping the defending European champions 3-0 at the Emirates courtesy of Rice’s double and Mikel Merino’s quick-fire third.
The first two free-kick goals of Rice’s entire career came within 12 second-half minutes of each other, curling two spectacular efforts beyond a star-studded Madrid wall and into Thibaurt Courtois’ top corner.
Less than five minutes after Rice had doubled Arsenal’s lead, Myles Lewis-Skelly teed up Merino to sweep home and make it 3-0, giving the Gunners the advantage heading into next week’s second leg.
Declan Rice verdict delivered after Arsenal display
Arsenal shelled out a club-record £100million fee to sign Rice from West Ham in July 2023, and having brought in a tough-tackling, defensive-minded midfielder, Arteta now has a completely different player.
Rice has developed into a box-crashing, high pressing and now free-kick scoring number eight at The Emirates, with his brace against Los Blancos being the apex of an already-impressive Arsenal career.
| Arsenal | Statistic | Real Madrid |
| 3 | Goals | 0 |
| 1.64 | xG | 0.50 |
| 11 / 12 | Shots on Target | 3 / 9 |
| 53% | Possession | 47% |
| 5 | Corners | 3 |
Those two free-kicks have set the Gunners firmly on course for the Champions League semi-finals, and after full-time, Rice’s Instagram post understandably led to numerous reactions from Arsenal heroes.
Jack Wilshere was one of these; sharing Rice’s post on his Instagram story with a one-word caption, calling the 26-year-old a “BARGAIN”.
Declan Rice and Arsenal hitting the next level
In their wildest dreams, most Arsenal fans wouldn’t have predicted a 3-0 advantage heading into the second leg at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, with a Champions League semi-final spot now theirs to lose.
Arteta converting Rice from a deep-lying playmaker into Arsenal’s all-action midfield metronome could be the key in their run towards a European Cup decider, providing a perfect foil for Martin Odegaard.
Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider in January that Arsenal have already agreed a deal to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad this summer, and with him at the base of the trio, who knows what levels the Gunners could go to next.
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