Declan Rice is still in shock, and who can blame him?
The Arsenal midfielder made Champions League history Tuesday night after scoring two absolute rockets from free-kicks in a 3-0 win over Real Madrid. Yeah, that Real Madrid.
Before that, he had never scored a free-kick in his entire pro career. Not one. He’d tried 12 times. Then suddenly, in the biggest match of Arsenal’s season, he buries two in the space of 13 minutes. Unbelievable.
“I don’t know whether it will ever sink in,” Rice told Amazon Prime. “I’ve gone back to my phone then and it’s gone crazy.”
He said scoring his first-ever free-kick was wild enough. But the second? That came from pure confidence. “I’m speechless really. I don’t think it’s going to hit me, what I’ve done tonight. It’s a historic night.”
And yeah, it was a bit of a rebellion. Set-piece coach Nicolas Jover apparently wanted a cross. Declan Rice saw space, looked at Saka, and basically went, “Nah, I got this.”
“It didn’t make sense from that angle to cross the ball,” Rice said. “I’m happy I took it because it was magic.”
Even after the dream night, he’s not getting ahead of himself. Rice reminded everyone that Real Madrid pulled off a miracle comeback in 2022, so Arsenal’s 3-0 lead isn’t exactly a done deal.
“To beat Real Madrid in this competition, it’s a big night for us. But even if we’re 3-0 up, the individual quality they have is scary,” he said. “At the Bernabeu, special things happen for them.”
He’s not wrong.
Arsenal fans might be losing their minds, but Rice is staying grounded. At least, until it finally hits him what he just pulled off.
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