Arsenal have had one of their most impressive performances in Europe in their history, beating Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates. With a big advantage in hand, the "Gunners" have a chance to reach the semi-finals of this year's Champions League.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a miraculous save, but could not do anything when Declan Rice scored a double from two free kicks. Mikel Merino sealed Arsenal's 3-0 win in the 75th minute.
Rice has never scored from a direct free kick in his career. However, the English midfielder scored twice in 12 minutes as Real Madrid paid the price for wasting a series of previous opportunities. In particular, Kylian Mbappe also missed a number of opportunities to open the score for the away team.
A bad evening for Real Madrid ended in extra time when Eduardo Camavinga was sent off after a second yellow card. The French midfielder will be absent from the return match next week.
The Gunners have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2009, but Real Madrid are now facing a huge task of turning the tables in the return match.
Coach Mikel Arteta has challenged Arsenal to "build their own story" when facing an imbalance in performance in the Champions League compared to Real Madrid. And they certainly did it on a memorable evening.
Real Madrid, a 15-time champion and has many superstars, is considered the strongest candidate for this year's championship. However, Arsenal have defied the absence of a number of key players due to injuries to create a great result.
How important this victory is will of course depend on the result of the second leg. But few people thought Arsenal could win such a resounding victory against the Real Madrid king.
After falling behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race, a result like this would renew Arsenal's hopes. They could still finish the season with a title to prove their progress under Arteta. No matter what happens, this is an evening that all Arsenal fans are extremely proud of.
"When you don't have much history in this arena in 20 years, you have to be ready to write your own history. This victory was thanks to the individual qualities and collective spirit of the whole team.
We will enjoy this match, but we know we will have to play even better at Madrid" - Arteta said.
