Arsenal star could be recognised with prestigious FIFA award after stunning moment against Real Madrid – opinion

A special FIFA award could soon be heading the way of Arsenal.

The Gunners are the talk of Europe right now after dismantling Real Madrid inside the Emirates Stadium, recording a remarkable 3-0 win against the Spanish giants, who have won the UEFA Champions League a record 15 times.

Arsenal have not conceded three in a game since December 2023 – so Mikel Arteta should feel confident of reaching the last four in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However – even if Arsenal do collapse in Madrid next week – Declan Rice will still have a tremendous chance of winning the prestigious FIFA Puskas Award.

Why Declan Rice could win the FIFA Puskas Award for his second freekick against Real Madrid

The FIFA Puskas Award is presented to the scorer of the best goal in a calendar year at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony in October, and the England international could well be taking it home.

Rice stunned millions when he whipped a freekick beyond Thibaut Courtois in the 58th minute – turning the Emirates Stadium into a cauldron of noise as he embarrassed the Belgian.

However, as good as that first freekick was, it had nothing on the second, which we feel could certainly win the FIFA Puskas Award when you consider the criteria for victory.

FIFA state that “an aesthetically beautiful goal, awarded without distinction of championship, gender or nationality, scored without the result of luck or a mistake and in support of Fair Play” qualifies for the Puskas Award – with Rice’s freekick ticking every box.

There was certainly no luck on show – the strike had an xG (expected goals) metric of 0.063, suggesting he had no right to stick it in the top corner from that far out, against a goalkeeper as talented as Courtois.

It was also an aesthetically pleasing goal – which FIFA demand it be – as the ball soared right into the top corner at great speed, despite the fact Rice used the side of his boot to strike it.

Such a powerful effort can only usually be achieved by striking through the ball with your laces, so the technique on show from the Arsenal No.41 was quite sumptuous.

Previous winners of the FIFA Puskas Award

If FIFA do opt to recognise Rice – who stunned Paul Merson – with the coveted award in October, he will join an exclusive club which includes some of the greats.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Mohamed Salah, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and James Rodriguez have previously lifted the FIFA Puskas Award.

In fact, an Arsenal player has already won it before.

Oliver Giroud took the prize home for his outrageous flicked goal against Crystal Palace back in the 2016/17 season, securing over 36% of the vote.

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