Arsenal welcomed Real Madrid to the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final.
Mikel Arteta made five changes from the side that drew with Everton in the Premier League as Bukayo Saka made his first start upon return from injury.
An entertaining first half finished goalless as both sides enjoyed periods of dominance, Kylian Mbappe should have opened the scoring after going clean through on goal whilst Declan Rice saw a header saved from Thibaut Courtois.
The England midfielder could not be denied in the second half as a stunning free kick before the hour mark flew past the Belgian keeper to give Arsenal the lead.
If the first free kick was stunning, the second may just have topped it as Rice stepped up and drilled one into the top left hand corner to double the Gunners lead.
Leandro Trossard then put Arsenal into dream land as his cross found Mikel Merino and the Spaniard swivelled on the shot and fired into the bottom corner.
READ MORE: Declan Rice stuns as one of two 10/10 performances in Arsenal player ratings vs Real Madrid
William Saliba prevented Arsenal taking an early lead
Arsenal’s early pressure on the reigning champions nearly paid dividends when a corner from Saka caused confusion in the Real Madrid penalty area.
On first glance it looked to supporters that the ball was cleared by a Madrid defender however, replays soon showed that William Saliba actually prevented the ball from going in.
Thomas Partey got in front of his man and flicked the ball goal bound past Courtois before the Gunners defender couldn’t get out of the way from close range.
Kylian Mbappe targeted Jakub Kiwior
Mbappe likes to operate in the left channel alongside team mate Vinicius Jr but the French striker made an obvious change to the game in the clash and received some joy.
It was evident that Mbappe drifted over to central defender Jakub Kiwior and made multiple runs off the back of the Polish defender.
Arsenal had a warning in the first half as David Raya prevented the Madrid striker from opening the scoring with a good save as he broke through the Gunner defence by running off Kiwior.
Alan Shearer bemoaned Arsenal’s lack of a striker
Saka and Gabriel Martinelli caused Real Madrid’s full backs all sorts of problems and Amazon Prime Video commentator Alan Shearer could not hide his frustration at Arsenal’s lack of a striker when chances were occurring.
The ball was flashed across goal on several occasions and one in particular just before half time from Saka left Shearer bemoaning the lack of a centre forward.
Shearer on commentary stated: “I’m tired of saying about it Arsenal but a proper centre forward is on the end of that and it’s 1-0.”
Gabriel Magalhaes in attendance on crutches at the Emirates Stadium
A sight that pained Gunners fans during the evening was the sight of defender Gabriel Magalhaes in attendance on crutches at the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel has undergone hamstring surgery following the injury picked up against Fulham in the Premier League victory.
The Brazilian would have enjoyed witnessing a sensational display from his team mates but the Gunners will be wanting his return as soon as possible next season.
Nicolas Jover instructed Declan Rice before Arsenal free kick opener
Just moments before Rice’s exquisite free kick to open the scoring in the tie, Arsenal set piece coach Nicolas Jover was seen gesturing whip the ball around the Real Madrid defensive wall.
Rice obliged with a thunderous effort past Courtois and sent the Emirates into raptures, whilst Jover could celebrate another success this season.
It wasn’t a well crafted corner kick with hours spent on the training pitch perfecting the players movement and blocking but it was just as effective.
There were no such gestures for the second goal, Rice simply repeated the extraordinary feat and placed one in the top corner. He became the first Arsenal player to score two free kicks in the same match since Nicolas Pepe in the Europa League in 2019.
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