Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice are among the stars who have been hailed after Arsenal secured a statement 2-1 win at the Bernabeu to stake their claim for Champions League glory.
Arsenal went into the Champions League quarter-final second leg with a strong advantage following their 3-0 win at the Emirates last week, during which Declan Rice scored two stunning free-kicks before being joined by Mikel Merino on the scoresheet. Real Madrid were plotting an incredible comeback in the return fixture, but Arsenal showed elite mentality to keep the Spanish giants at bay and complete an historic 5-1 aggregate win.
Bukayo Saka was given the chance to silence the home crowd from the penalty spot in the 13th minute when Madrid defender Raul Asencio brought down Mikel Merino in the box. The winger’s tame effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois, keeping Madrid’s comeback hopes alive.
The Gunners were not fazed by Madrid’s world-class forward line, which includes Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham, and largely kept the quartet at bay.
Saka made amends for his earlier error when he finished off a lovely Arsenal move by dinking the ball over Courtois and into the net in the 65th minute. Madrid clawed a goal back two minutes later following an error from William Saliba, though Arsenal rounded off the win in style when Martinelli bagged an injury-time goal.
Arsenal caught Madrid on the break, with Merino playing Martinelli in behind Luka Modric and Fran Garcia. The winger raced away from Garcia before showing great composure to slot into the bottom corner.
After Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals – where they will face a very impressive Paris Saint-Germain side – TNT Sports pundits Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand lauded several of Mikel Arteta’s players.
Reacting to Martinelli’s goal, McCoist said: “For me, they [Arsenal] deserve to go and get the winning goal. That was the mismatch of the season there, Martinelli with Fran Garcia.
“It’s just a brilliant counter against a team that are all over the place at this moment in time.
“Brilliant. The timing of the pass is perfect because Garcia can’t step out, because he’s still in his own half. Once he [Martinelli] gets away, you can’t bring him down there.
“Beautifully casual finish, and it’s no more than they deserve.”
Fellow Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly also received praise after shining at the Bernabeu at just 18 years old.
DIVE DEEPER ✨ Declan Rice, Mikel Arteta react as Arsenal sink Real Madrid with incredible Champions League display
Second Arsenal star ‘is special’ – Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand said: “I’m sorry, is Lewis-Skelly really 18?
“His date of birth is right, isn’t it? He looks so calm and so cool in and out of possession.
“Before the game he was on a call, just talking and chilling. He is special.”
When asked about Rice stepping up over the two legs and establishing himself as a truly world-class midfielder, Ferdinand added: “You need games like this in your career. You need to get to places like this to be properly judged.
“He’s stood up against the holders of this trophy and he’s not just competed, he’s run the show, he’s run the show in both games.
“He’s put himself in another bracket, I think after these two games he’s in another bracket.”
McCoist also praised Rice by saying: “Over the two games, he’s been the outstanding player on the pitch.
“He was monumental. He was the best player on the pitch in both games. His level of performance was quite magnificent.”
McCoist added that Arsenal ‘dominated Real Madrid over the two legs’. Although, he added: “I would suspect a lot of people might have PSG as slight favourites.”
Arsenal transfers: Two winger updates
Meanwhile, Barcelona are reportedly prepared to give Arsenal a free run at signing one of their top winger targets in a £50million summer deal.
However, Arteta’s side will need to get him to reject a lucrative contract offer from his current side.
TEAMtalk understands Arsenal are also considering a swoop for a Bayern Munich winger as his price tag has been halved.
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