BIT BY BIT it looked like the very essence of Real Madrid was stripped away.
The swagger, the confidence, the belief. It didn’t just drain from them, it was taken by Arsenal in 17 enthralling second-half minutes.
For now, at least.
There is still a second leg to come in this Champions League quarter-final, and while they trail 3-0 going into the return game at the Santiago Bernabeu next week, defiance was all they could muster before departing north London.
“We were lucky to get away with three. It could have been more,” Jude Bellingham said in an interview best described as fronting up.
The England international is a fine orator in such scenarios and in a sharp post-match de-brief he concluded with the following. “We’re going to need something special, but if there is one place where something crazy could happen…”
When Declan Rice scored the first of two kicks that will go down in history, and could well help propel him to a different kind of stratosphere in his own career, the TV camera panned to Kylian Mbappe’s reaction just after the ball curled around a four-man wall.
There were 58 minutes on the clock and no need to panic.
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A shellshocked Kylian Mbappe. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The television director was somewhat mischievous when they made sure to find Real icon, and bendy free-kick taker extraordinaire, Roberto Carlos in the crowd looking a bit more sullen.
When Rice let rip with a rocket to double Arsenal’s lead on 70 minutes Bellingham stood still with sweating pumping looking at a replay on one of the big screens in the Emirates Stadium. If he was gripped by disbelief, the 60,000 or so home fans were doing a fine job of savouring the finest moments of delirium since leaving Highbury for this venue almost 20 years ago.
Two decades later and a win like this one, while not even confirming progress from the quarter final, should infuse Mikel Arteta and his players with the belief that they can win a first European Cup for the club.
Because even before Mikel Merino made it 3-0 with a deft-first time finish from Myles Lewis Skelly’s set up on 75 minutes, it felt like something truly special was unfolding.
One of those life-affirming nights for people who devote a life to a football club, and one that should prove equally determinative for a squad of players who have either fallen short of glory together or are just embarking on their top-level careers.
When that third goal went in you new Madrid were in trouble when even Carlo Ancelotti’s demeanour on the touchline was that of someone completely helpless. His side were at the mercy of Arsenal and given there had been a glut of goal line clearances even before the deadlock was broken then it’s easier to understand that feeling of relief dressed up as defiance by Bellingham.
Of course Madrid are capable of turning this tie around, every element of their history and their very existence points to something truly remarkable happening in the Spanish capital for the return leg.
But it shouldn’t.
If Arsenal cannot use a night like this one to inspire a seismic and historic end to the season then it will feel like the biggest disappointment of all.
This is a campaign that threatened to drift into the ether before Rice got a grip of it with two moments of contrasting beauty on a pitch.
The first free was, incredibly given his accuracy with set-pieces, his first successful attempt in nine years as a professional. He admitted afterwards that he was going to cross before realising Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had not got his angles covered.
Declan Rice scores his first goal. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Whereas Rice caressed that curling effort around the wall, his second goal was delivered with a kind of visceral confidence, launching himself towards the ball and producing a technique that married anger with delicacy.
The ball zoomed right into the top corner and came as close to skimming the underside of the crossbar as was possible.
When Merino guided his left-footed shot around some bodies and out of Courtois’ reach, it didn’t seem like what Arsenal were doing was possible.
The return of Bukayo Saka was instrumental to their renewed vigour and sense of purpose in attack. He won both free kicks that led to Rice’s goals and, while it was all down to the midfielder’s execution, his teammate was sharp and clever in how he teased opponents.
For Rice’s first, Saka picked the ball up on the right and decided to saunter across the centre, enticing David Alaba all the way and drawing the experienced defender into a foul in a dangerous area.
With the second, Saka found himself centrally and showed his slight of touch and movement to earn his side another set piece.
What happened next was a moment of wonder – Martin Odegaard may only have pulled his hands from his head now – and the manner of how Arsenal finished also hinted at something magical on the horizon.
The season’s end is nearing but rather than looking shattered and bereft, Arsenal look like a team renewed by such a thrilling, historic win.
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Arsenal enthused and primed for history as Real Madrid essence is stripped away
BIT BY BIT it looked like the very essence of Real Madrid was stripped away.
The swagger, the confidence, the belief. It didn’t just drain from them, it was taken by Arsenal in 17 enthralling second-half minutes.
For now, at least.
There is still a second leg to come in this Champions League quarter-final, and while they trail 3-0 going into the return game at the Santiago Bernabeu next week, defiance was all they could muster before departing north London.
“We were lucky to get away with three. It could have been more,” Jude Bellingham said in an interview best described as fronting up.
The England international is a fine orator in such scenarios and in a sharp post-match de-brief he concluded with the following. “We’re going to need something special, but if there is one place where something crazy could happen…”
When Declan Rice scored the first of two kicks that will go down in history, and could well help propel him to a different kind of stratosphere in his own career, the TV camera panned to Kylian Mbappe’s reaction just after the ball curled around a four-man wall.
There were 58 minutes on the clock and no need to panic.
The television director was somewhat mischievous when they made sure to find Real icon, and bendy free-kick taker extraordinaire, Roberto Carlos in the crowd looking a bit more sullen.
When Rice let rip with a rocket to double Arsenal’s lead on 70 minutes Bellingham stood still with sweating pumping looking at a replay on one of the big screens in the Emirates Stadium. If he was gripped by disbelief, the 60,000 or so home fans were doing a fine job of savouring the finest moments of delirium since leaving Highbury for this venue almost 20 years ago.
Two decades later and a win like this one, while not even confirming progress from the quarter final, should infuse Mikel Arteta and his players with the belief that they can win a first European Cup for the club.
Because even before Mikel Merino made it 3-0 with a deft-first time finish from Myles Lewis Skelly’s set up on 75 minutes, it felt like something truly special was unfolding.
One of those life-affirming nights for people who devote a life to a football club, and one that should prove equally determinative for a squad of players who have either fallen short of glory together or are just embarking on their top-level careers.
When that third goal went in you new Madrid were in trouble when even Carlo Ancelotti’s demeanour on the touchline was that of someone completely helpless. His side were at the mercy of Arsenal and given there had been a glut of goal line clearances even before the deadlock was broken then it’s easier to understand that feeling of relief dressed up as defiance by Bellingham.
Of course Madrid are capable of turning this tie around, every element of their history and their very existence points to something truly remarkable happening in the Spanish capital for the return leg.
But it shouldn’t.
If Arsenal cannot use a night like this one to inspire a seismic and historic end to the season then it will feel like the biggest disappointment of all.
This is a campaign that threatened to drift into the ether before Rice got a grip of it with two moments of contrasting beauty on a pitch.
The first free was, incredibly given his accuracy with set-pieces, his first successful attempt in nine years as a professional. He admitted afterwards that he was going to cross before realising Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had not got his angles covered.
Whereas Rice caressed that curling effort around the wall, his second goal was delivered with a kind of visceral confidence, launching himself towards the ball and producing a technique that married anger with delicacy.
The ball zoomed right into the top corner and came as close to skimming the underside of the crossbar as was possible.
When Merino guided his left-footed shot around some bodies and out of Courtois’ reach, it didn’t seem like what Arsenal were doing was possible.
The return of Bukayo Saka was instrumental to their renewed vigour and sense of purpose in attack. He won both free kicks that led to Rice’s goals and, while it was all down to the midfielder’s execution, his teammate was sharp and clever in how he teased opponents.
For Rice’s first, Saka picked the ball up on the right and decided to saunter across the centre, enticing David Alaba all the way and drawing the experienced defender into a foul in a dangerous area.
With the second, Saka found himself centrally and showed his slight of touch and movement to earn his side another set piece.
What happened next was a moment of wonder – Martin Odegaard may only have pulled his hands from his head now – and the manner of how Arsenal finished also hinted at something magical on the horizon.
The season’s end is nearing but rather than looking shattered and bereft, Arsenal look like a team renewed by such a thrilling, historic win.
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