Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has hailed a “beautiful” performance from his players, after they beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday.
Declan Rice scored two stunning free-kicks as the Gunners took charge of the game in the second half.
Mikel Merino added a third, stroking home Myles Lewis-Skelly’s low cross, to give Arteta’s men a big advantage ahead of the second leg next week.
Arteta told Amazon Prime: “Beautiful. So happy, so proud of the team. We have the opportunity to make a lot of people proud and we certainly have done that.
“I’ve never seen the stadium like this. Before the game they were already singing and already playing the game.
“For big European nights you need the big stadiums that create atmosphere and you need individual magic moments and there you go.
“That’s the beauty of whoever invented this sport. We hadn’t scored a free-kick since September, 2021. And tonight, against Real Madrid at home in the Champions League, we scored two in 13 minutes.”
