Football
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta reveals Declan Rice free-kick talk as ‘magic moments’ down Real Madrid
The Gunners boss pointed to the fan-made atmosphere as key to win
Mikel Arteta revealed that Declan Rice has been “really determined” to take on free-kick duties for Arsenal after the midfielder’s “magic” double against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Rice had never previously scored a direct free-kick in nine seasons as a professional, but he twice beat Thibaut Courtois with stunning long-range efforts inside 12 second-half minutes to put Arsenal in command of the quarter-final first leg.
“It’s been a long time, so to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude and quality from the same player – a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career. What are the odds?
