Declan Rice has revealed the seven-word advice Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka gave him before he scored his first free-kick of the night against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old midfielder played a key role in Arsenal’s dominant victory at the Emirates, opening the scoring in the 58th minute with a stunning curled free-kick that left Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with no chance.
Rice didn’t stop there—12 minutes later, he netted another brilliant free-kick to double Arsenal’s lead before Mikel Merino sealed the win with a composed finish five minutes later.
Despite Arsenal’s set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, being a crucial part of Mikel Arteta’s coaching staff, Rice admitted that he went against Jover’s instructions.
“I don’t know if it will ever sink in,” Rice told Prime Video after the game. “I fancied both free-kicks, and having that confidence, I’m a bit speechless.”
He explained, “Martin [Odegaard] was telling me to cross it, but I thought chipping it like that didn’t make sense. We practice them all the time, and Jover was insisting I cross, but it didn’t feel right.”
Rice then shared the pivotal moment with Saka: “Bukayo said, ‘If you feel it, go for it.’ I looked at the wall and the keeper and knew I could curl it—and that’s exactly what happened.”
The former West Ham star also detailed his thought process before his second goal:
“We planned to touch and set it up, but Mbappe was standing too close. He was right in the middle, so I just went for it. I practice free-kicks a lot, and after scoring the first, I had the confidence—there was nothing to lose.”
Real Madrid now faces an uphill battle in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, needing to overturn a three-goal deficit. Even head coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted the task was daunting.
“The chances are pretty slim, but we have to try and do everything we can,” Ancelotti said post-match. “Right now, it feels impossible, but football is unpredictable. No one expected Arsenal to score two free-kicks, so anything can happen.”
“It’s a massive challenge, but the Bernabéu has seen stranger things.”
Leave a Reply