Arsenal enjoyed one of the best European nights at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday as they ran out 3-0 winners over Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Midfielder Declan Rice was the star of the show, putting Arsenal two to the good with two free kicks of the highest quality.
Rice’s first free kick, just before the hour mark, curled around the Real Madrid wall to the point it was wider than the post – before curling back in and going in.
Then, Rice’s second was a top-corner rocket that was as accurate as it was powerful, the kind of effort David Beckham would’ve been proud of.
Mikel Merino then rounded off the scoring with a superb curling effort, hit first-time and effectively passed into the far corner of Thibaut Courtois’ net.
Owen Hargreaves, speaking after the game, spoke about a player who reminded him of both Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry on the night.
Owen Hargreaves says Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry would’ve been proud of Mikel Merino goal
Hargreaves spoke highly of Rice’s free kicks before going on to praise Merino for a finish he deemed of the highest quality.
Indeed, the former England international said Merino’s goal was “almost as good as Dec’s free kicks”.
“Amazing,” Hargreaves said on TNT Sports. “The finish is, I mean, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry… they’d be proud of that. The finish is amazing.
“I think even the football is really good, But I think Merino drops off and he gets into a pocket where he has a picture of what he wants.
This is lovely, it really is. The patience of it back to (Myles( Lewis-Skelly, watch him there, just sit back into that pocket.
“He shouldn’t score from there against a keeper of this quality, but he passes it round the defender into the corner.
“It is so perfect, the finish, it’s almost as good as Dec’s free kicks!”
Meanwhile, fans likened Rice to Roberto Carlos and David Beckham for his free kicks.
What Mikel Merino is like behind the scenes at Arsenal as midfielder continues to shine up front
Merino has been a revelation up front for Arsenal, hitting the ground running since switching from midfield and developing even further into the role.
Mikel Arteta recently shared what Merino is like behind the scenes, saying he’s a real “joy to work with” and hailing his character, quality and versatility.
“I already did that (convince him to return to midfield) because I played him as an eight the other day when we brought Leo in, so we discussed that,” Arteta said.
“He’s a joy to work with and that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to bring him to the club because he’s so versatile.
“He’s very intelligent and he loves the game and he loves to understand the game and the reason why we have certain players to do what we want them to do.
“Mikel understood immediately, explaining his qualities, what the team needs in that moment and how he can benefit from being in those positions and demanding that the role he can do as a number nine with his qualities, not comparing to anybody else and judge his performances on that basis.
“And since then, I think he’s been really good.”
