During their emphatic 3-0 win over Real Madrid, Arsenal managed to equal a record against Los Blancos in the Champions League which only Liverpool have managed before.
It was a truly historic night at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners placed one foot in the Champions League semi-finals by thrashing Madrid.
Two incredible free-kicks scored by Declan Rice and Mikel Merino’s strike ensured that Arsenal secured a famous win.
But this was no fluke from Mikel Arteta’s team, who were totally dominant in the North London and their latest record proves exactly that.
Arsenal register joint most shots on target vs Real Madrid in UCL knockout
Arsenal managed to register the joint-most shots on target against Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout stage, along with Liverpool, back in March 2009.
The North London club had 11 attempts on target and might even feel they should have an even bigger lead heading into the second-leg.
Thibaut Courtois had an action-packed night on his return from injury as he was forced into making five saves.
Rice was the biggest threat to the Beglian goalkeeper’s goal as he had four shots on target, meanwhile, Merino managed three and both Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli had two.
Meanwhile, Arsenal managed to keep both Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr quiet, as the visitors produced just three attempts on target.
How likely was Thibaut Courtois to save Declan Rice’s second free-kick vs Real Madrid?
Rice’s second free kick against Madrid was 0.97 xG On Target, which means that Courtois had a 3 percent chance of saving it, according to xG Philosophy on X.
The 26-year-old’s second free-kick was hit to perfection as it nestled right into the top corner and left the Belgian with next to no chance of reaching it.
Rice revealed after the win that he had changed his free-kick technique in which he kept his eyes on the part of the ball he wanted to strike.
Jude Bellingham was left in shock at Rice’s free-kick and couldn’t quite believe his England teammate had managed to hit it to such perfection.
