With a 3-0 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday, Arsenal had one of their best evenings in the team’s lengthy and illustrious history. Gabriel’s post-match response to Declan Rice’s two free kicks in the locker room has gone viral.
Mikel Merino did a fantastic job, and Englishman Rice hit two of the greatest free kicks in recent memory. The Spanish giants, however, who found it difficult to put anything of note together in north London, were actually flattered by the scoreline.
Rice had never scored straight from a set-piece in his career until he defeated the formidable Thibaut Courtois twice. In the 58th minute, he first curled his effort around the Real Madrid wall, leaving the Belgian with very little.
He produced another moment of outrageous brilliance in under twelve minutes. “He couldn’t, could he?” was the general consensus. raced through both supporters’ and commentators’ thoughts as he buried his second attempt in the upper right corner.
The talented 26-year-old put on a show for the ages, laced with what appeared to be relative ease. His engine room performance left the Spanish media in disbelief, and he also took aim at the defending champions’ lacklustre performance.
As a result, Arsenal has the upper hand as they get ready to play in Spain next week, even though they will have to overcome the loss of Gabriel, who will miss the remainder of the 2024–25 season due to a hamstring injury sustained during their victory over Fulham.
Gabriel, his injured teammate, couldn’t help but compliment Rice, who is considered one of the best midfielders in global football, as he returned to the home team’s dressing room with the Player of the Match award in hand.
“Oh my God! “Please give me your right foot!” he exclaimed during his Instagram live. The inactive centre defender could be heard yelling as Rice started to leave: “No, come here, Dec! Please, please, please! Oh, how amazing, my brother!
Additionally, footage of Gabriel’s live response has surfaced. As seen in the video below, the Brazilian was speechless and reduced to a scream and a palm over his mouth in complete shock at Rice’s skill and strength.
https://www.instagram.com/luizseveroo/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=56614950-d548-4934-a475-facbd8b2db70
Watching from the Emirates stand, Gabriel and his family were ecstatic at the possibility of having a foot in the Champions League semi-finals as Arsenal increased their lead thanks to Merino’s well-taken strike well inside the 18-yard box.
Jude Bellingham and his colleagues will go to Deportivo Alaves on Sunday afternoon in La Liga in an effort to catch up to bitter rivals Barcelona and try to overcome the three-goal lead next Wednesday.
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