William Saliba has backed Declan Rice to score more free-kicks in the future after the midfielder scored a sensational double in Arsenal's emphatic win over Real Madrid.
Rice netted his first and second career goals from direct set-pieces within minutes, propelling the Gunners to a 3-0 triumph at the Emirates Stadium. Before Tuesday’s match, Rice had never scored from a free-kick in 338 professional appearances.
Arsenal under Mikel Arteta had struggled to score directly from free-kicks for nearly four years until that point, with the last successful attempt being Martin Odegaard's effort against Burnley in September 2021. And defender Saliba said: “It’s the first time I’ve seen a good free-kick from Dec.
“We don’t score a lot of direct free-kicks and today he scored two in a game like this. I am so proud of him and I am sure he will score again. He was amazing.”
Madrid entered the tie as favourites, but with Rice's double and Mikel Merino's goal late in the second half, Arsenal now have one foot in the semi-final. One of Paris St Germain, who they defeated earlier in the group stage, or Aston Villa await in the last four, should the Gunners progress.
Although Real did threaten at times, through Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, Arsenal enjoyed the game’s best chances and Saliba, who has been linked with a move to the Spanish giants, continued: “We are so proud because we knew they had the best player in the world. So we are so happy to keep the clean sheet in front of our fans.
“But although we won 3-0, we know it is not finished. There are a lot of things that can happen. We wanted to win and we want to win again next week and qualify. We don’t have to be scared going there (to the Bernabeu). We want to go there and win the game.
“It gives us a lot of confidence for what is coming next. We have to keep going like this, even if we have a young team, we can win. It was one of the best (nights of my career) and I hope it’s not the last one.”
Arsenal, 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League with just seven matches to play, will return to action at home to Brentford on Saturday before they head to the Spanish capital for the return leg in Spain next Wednesday.
Arsenal face PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on April 29 and fans can watch it free with an Amazon Prime subscription or by signing up for a 30-day free trial.
More Champions League fixtures are available on TNT Sports via Discovery+ Premium.
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