Arsenal – Real Madrid: Bend It Like Declan (3-0)

This tie was a battle between seasoned veterans and novices at the elite European level. It seemed for a while the tide would turn against the hosts, but as they cried out for a marquee moment, their record signing dropped the ball on a dime to take the contest into their hands.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

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The Champions League is the test of who truly has the mettle to succeed. For one outfit at the same stage of their elimination last year, it was time to prove they would not wilt under the bright lights.

Arsenal are at a crossroads in their journey with Mikel Arteta. Their third attempt at a Premier League title charge has fallen flat on its face. For much of the last month, the team have been going through the motions, unable to match their points haul from the last two years after a 1-1 draw with Everton, and they are also out of both domestic cup competitions. Progression is not in question, but it is five years since the club celebrated lifting a trophy. To end the drought, they have to pass through the fire.

Real Madrid are masters of massive moments. Their squad is indeed human: injury crises crippled the defense since the start of this season, and the ensemble of stars took time to fuse. Yet, you only have to look at a list of the last month’s results to see why this team demand the utmost respect from rivals. Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad stood on equal footing for long phases against Los Blancos but bowed out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey: the kings keep digging a way out of trouble.

Carlo Ancelotti again adapted to make up for missing men in his squad. Aurélien Tchouaméni served a suspension after a yellow card in the Round of 16 second leg, and Dani Ceballos, once a loanee at Arsenal, was not fully fit after his hamstring injury. Eduardo Camavinga came into the middle of the park next to Luka Modrić. Lucas Vázquez made way for Federico Valverde as the right back, and David Alaba was on the left of the back four. It would be one of his sternest tests after an ACL tear.

Arteta attempted to engineer an advantage without one of his leaders at the back. Gabriel Magalhães will miss the rest of the season to undergo surgery on his hamstring. Jakub Kiwior came in for him as the partner to William Saliba in central defense. Jurriën Timber took the place of Ben White as a right back, fighting through his knee issue last week. Mikel Merino moved into the role of central forward and Bukayo Saka made his first start for the team after his return to action at the start of the month.

Lewis-Skelly stands up to be counted

Arteta asked the fans to stoke the fire at the Emirates Stadium, but the players required a performance to make the most of the energy in the ground. They obliged in the first fifteen minutes of the match.

The hosts had a higher share of possession and turned it into a set-piece siege inside six minutes. Saka slung a corner into the danger zone, and Courtois clawed the ball over his bar. On the second attempt, the winger could connect in the air with Thomas Partey, whose header hit Saliba near the goal line.

The left side of the field looked even livelier. Myles Lewis-Skelly stood out as a progressive force as a fullback. He was willing to break the lines with his vertical passing, took care of the ball with his powerful physique, and trusted him to separate from markers to turn and face forward. Twice, quick releases allowed the relentless running of Martinelli to make headway in the final third: the first time saw Rice hit the arm of Raúl Asencio before Partey hit a tame effort at the edge of the penalty area.

8th minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Kylian Mbappé was less diligent than Vinícius Júnior at tightening the corners of the formation, so Lewis-Skelly had a more space to progress the ball in front of the second line (especially if Merino moved around Modrić to occupy him further). Camavinga does not close access accurately behind him, so Rice runs off the back of the midfielder into the box.

Gunners give in to familiar faults

The risk for a team that relies on routinized plays is that they start to second guess themselves under pressure if they cannot pull off their ploys successfully. Ancelotti’s men were willing to wait in the shadows, striking most powerfully to pounce on errors from their hosts. Twice, Mbappé released shots to capitalize on mistakes from Kiwior before sprinting onto a through ball from Bellingham at a breakaway on the half hour mark. David Raya repelled him, but the warning signs were there.

21st minute: offensive transition from Real Madrid. The progressive route from Lewis-Skelly to Rice with a layoff to Merino meant Camavinga had time to retreat and try to transition. Rice’s immense running power slowed down a possible counterattack and Partey could cut out a pass to Bellingham. But as the ball went to Ødegaard, Camavinga eased him off the ball and Antonio Rüdiger ran into enemy territory. Madrid cut several paths past the captain in transitions to reach the final third.

The game started to slow down for the Gunners on the ball. Their patient approach attacks with caution against deep blocks, moving the ball from side to side with reliance on the right sided rotations for a lot of the ingenuity in the final third. Timber took a deep role behind Ødegaard and Saka, shy of bombing forward as a third option to rotate in the pack and offer on time on the overlap.

43rd minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Real Madrid’s 4-4-2 block was largely successful at stifling the interactions on the right side. Bellingham blocked the inside passing lane to Ødegaard and Alaba was tight to Saka as he tried to infiltrate inside spaces on the dribble. Vinícius moved back to cover Partey and since Timber was hesitant to leave him free on transition, Saka’s flick went to the left back before the Brazilian bolted forward. Timber and Partey could double back to hold him up.

It would also not be an Arsenal game without some missed chances to regret. Saka flashed a cutback along the face of the six yard box with Rice and Merino lurking towards the far side of the target, but neither moved decisively to tap the ball goalbound. Courtois continued to marvel in this competition with strong saves from a Merino header and Martinelli volley on the stroke of half time. The hosts had not equipped themselves badly by any means. But would they come away content with the result?

Carpe diem

At the start of the second half, Bellingham and Mbappé made a rare connection, and the French forward fired into the side netting. Generally, the front four failed to spark significantly into life. But at least at the other end of the field, they felt they had enough stability in their block to allow Arsenal to go through routines without ripping them apart. Then came the moment that changed it all.

Arsenal again looked for right sided rotations around the penalty area. Bellingham blocked a lane to Ødegaard, and Alaba shunted Saka on a tightrope inside without being able to turn to the target. But the winger drew a foul from the fullback, and the referee blew for a free kick. Rice took responsibility for the set-piece and picked out a pearler, whipping an effort around the wall into the back of the net.

67th minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Rice rotated the ball back to Lewis-Skelly, Martinelli ran onto the last line, pinning Valverde and Rodrygo ran with the widening Rice. Lewis-Skelly held off Vinícius in his back, forced the ball through Camavinga and Valverde’s legs and released the ball to Martinelli for a strike. Rice’s deep runs continued to create problems in the left channel while Merino’s movement to the far side in this sequence foreshadowed the buildup to the third goal.

As the hour mark passed, it was time to seize the moment. More cracks began to appear in the Madrid block. Bigger spaces were available in front of the second line, allowing entries into the box from the left: Rice, Martinelli, and Merino knocked on the door, calling Courtois into action. A corner kept up the pressure and Saka stepped through the fire as Camavinga clattered into him to give away a foul.

Rice repeated the feat with an even more stellar strike, bending the ball into the top corner of the same side of the net that he hit for the first goal. Courtois could not get close at full extension and red shirts whirled away in delirium. Arsenal were in dreamland, and it would be about to get even better.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿☄️ Declan Rice is the FIRST player to score 2 goals from direct free kicks in a Champions League knockout stage match. (@OptaJean) pic.twitter.com/QpTGBe6CSD

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) April 8, 2025

The Gunners were in full flow, firing forward with the red arrow of Rice on the charge to carry the ball towards the box. He passed to Martinelli, who worked the ball back inside to Lewis-Skelly. The left back shifted the play onto Merino, and the makeshift striker slotted a sweet shot past Courtois.

To add to their misery, Madrid would go down to ten men. Camavinga received a second yellow card in injury time for booting the ball away in anger and the referee pulled out the red card. It was a night to forget for all those associated with Los Blancos, but the stuff of fairytales for Arsenal in Europe.

Takeaways

This triumph is the most marquee success for Arteta at Arsenal. He has taken the team to the cusp of glory in the Premier League but there has been the feeling that confidence clams up on the big stage. Another forward would raise the ceiling of the club even higher, but this squad showed their journey to this point is not a coincidence, seized the moment, and sat on their three-goal lead with authority. Though it is half time in the tie, a spot in the final four of the Champions League should be theirs.

Real Madrid are the comeback kings, but this task might be beyond their powers: the last and only time that the club overturned a three goal first leg deficit in this tournament was in 1976. It would not be fair to say that Arsenal completely outclassed the reigning champions, who were on the other end of moments of magic that have littered so much of their success in the last decade. But the stars did not come out to play and have to hold responsibility for their fate in the final furlong of the season.

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