Rice stuns - Is this the best night of Arteta's career? | Man City looking to replace De Bruyne 'void'
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories, making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Dave Reed and joining me is journalist and broadcaster Henry Winter and the athletics football correspondent David Ornstein. Welcome to you both. Only one place to start and that is at the Emirates. Declan Rice's stunning free kicks, two of them dominate the Back Pages. We've got Henry, we've got David with us as well. And Henry, I guess let's come to you first of all.

Is this the best night of Mikel Arteta's career as Arsenal manager? And I guess, is it the best night Arsenal fans have seen at the Emirates in more than a decade, I suppose?

Yes, definitely. I mean, I think you almost have to sort of stretch it even further back and say it's probably their best night in Europe since the 5-1 at San Siro with Thierry Henry. I think it's one of the best free kicks that Arsenal fans have ever seen. I mean, we mentioned Thierry Henry, free kicks against Juventus and Roma. Cazorla as well. Santi Cazorla was a brilliant free kick taker. Mikel Arteta himself scored a great free kick for Arsenal against Aston Villa yesterday.

and Pires against Liverpool. I mean, you can sort of run through them. But these two in such a game like this, with a game so evenly poised, with everyone rightly lording Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti, and for this great Spanish team to be frozen to stone by the movement of Rice, by the defending, outstanding defending of

And I mean, the fact that Real Madrid's best player was their keeper Thibaut Courtois and who was beaten three times, twice by Declan Rice with those goals and then Mikel Mourinho with a fabulous finish as well. I mean, it was just one of the great Arsenal performances. And, you know, the headlines all over the place, you know, the Guardians, the Rises, right? I particularly like the eye one that you showed earlier, the double decker offensively.

for Declan Rice. I mean, I think that's a great headline. And it really was like London buses. I mean, I don't think he'd ever scored a free kick before. It's only a direct free kick. And then he goes and produces two in a row. Yeah, that's right. He hadn't scored a direct free kick in his senior career at all until tonight. And then two come along at once like buses, those double deckers. David, what did you make of the Arsenal performance tonight? Was it a mature performance in your eyes?

Yeah, I thought it was quite measured, composed after the first half that included a number of mistakes that could have been punished. But they regained their focus after half-time and completely dominated. Probably the best team in Europe, certainly in this competition.

Real Madrid have been a bit off colour of late in their last couple of games, not getting a win. And even really, they could have gone out against Atletico Madrid. They lost the second leg before coming through on penalties. They're without Chouameni and a couple of defenders, but they had all of their attackers at their disposal. Jude Bellingham was there too. And Arsenal completely overwhelmed them. I guess Arsenal's only regret might be that they should have won by more. They were peppering Real Madrid's goal. There were a number of goal line clearances.

As Henry says, Courtois was in outstanding form. But this is one of the iconic nights in Arsenal history and they absolutely deserved it. And I think they'll reflect on it

as a coming of age that they really fulfilled their potential under Mikel Arteta despite not having had the smoothest season, especially with injuries. But they went toe to toe. There was no real rush of blood that we've seen in some of their biggest matches under Arteta.

No sort of disciplinary issues either. It was more Real Madrid that lost their minds a little bit. Now, it is only half-time and Arsenal will be conscious of that. Going to the Bernabeu, it's going to be a febrile atmosphere. I'll be there next week and Arsenal should not be taking this for granted. And actually, when they spoke after the match, the likes of Rice and Marino Arteta, they actually appeared to be sort of keeping their feet on the ground and rightly so. It would be naive of them to be anything but

However, this was absolutely incredible. And Declan Rice is worth every penny and more that they paid for him, despite what some people have said over his time at the club. He proved that tonight. It wasn't just the goals. It was an astonishing performance by him.

Also by the likes of Luis Skelly, Saliba, Raya was faultless in goal. And throughout the team, it was brilliant. Considering they've not got a recognised striker, to beat Real Madrid 3-0 is beyond their wildest dreams, I'm sure. Let's talk a little bit more about Declan Rice's performance then at the Emirates. I mean, the back page of The Guardian says Rice is right. David, you touched on the price there. And I know Arsenal fans...

seeing rather cheekily we got him half-priced to try and take a little bit of pressure off because he has talked about the amount of money that he cost Arsenal. But Henry, what about Declan Rice's overall performance tonight? How good a midfield performance on the big stage was that?

Well, if you're Thomas Tuchel watching and you see Declan Rice's performance, you saw certainly Drew Bellingham's performance in the first half and Bakayo Saka's performance in the first half in particular, and Lewis Skelly, you'll be thinking, wow, that's four of my sort of ten outfields sorted out. I thought he was obviously outstanding, as David said, echo every sentiment there. But also credit to Mikel Arteta. By playing Thomas Partey in that sort of slightly deeper shielding role,

it allowed Declan Rice to go forward. And I think people at the club have been telling him that he can score more, take responsibility. And we've seen Arsenal with their set pieces, the corners, and Declan Rice's corners, the in-swingers from the left have been very effective. But for him to do this, those goals like that, to produce it against Arsenal,

Absolutely, box to box, he was fantastic. He put in some great challenges. But to produce two free kicks of that quality, to outfox a keeper of Thibaut Courtois' class and experience, to bend it the first one, Roberto Carlos style...

And then to again outwit Thibaut Courtois, because it looked like he could go over the wall and Courtois looked like he was going to go that way. And Arsenal, again, credit to Mourinho and a couple of the other players who produced that sort of decoy wall then broke to create that space. And he absolutely smashed it through that space again with a slight bit of curl.

So, look, absolutely fantastic performance with a moving ball, out of possession and clearly fantastically with a dead ball. And David, the Telegraph says bend it like Declan. I know the camera kept cutting to Roberto Carlos. I'm sure he would have been proud of that free kick. But was it Roberto Carlos? Was it David Beckham that evoked memories for you? And are they the best two free kicks you've ever seen in a game?

Well, he didn't do it with the outside of his foot, so he's not quite Roberto Carlos yet, but it was Beckham-esque and the range and the precision, the power, the confidence to go for it the second time round against a keeper of such repute is pretty jaw-dropping. And it's...

it's testament to Declan Rice's all-round performances. Since he joined Arsenal, he's surely been their most consistent performer. He's barely ever injured. He plays through injury. He hasn't had the chance really from many set pieces, the occasional one here and there. I think he said he normally hits the wall. In training, I think he takes them a lot. And clearly, he's full of confidence. That was a big match-up against Jude Bellingham. A lot of people in...

I saw it on Sky, actually, and in the newspapers, billing them against each other and how they would compare. And take nothing away from Bellingham. He's an absolute phenomenon, a world-class midfielder. But Declan Rice was the best player on the pitch tonight, I thought, by quite some distance. And, yeah, I mean, those free kicks, he said after the game, Rice, it won't really sink in now because they've still got a job to do. But in the years to come, I think they're going to go down as some of the most sort of...

famous moments in English club football because the occasion, the importance, the opposition, the stage, what it meant to Arsenal. And you think back to great European performances of English clubs over the years, Manchester City beating Real Madrid 4-0 at home a couple of years ago. You have Chelsea in the Nou Camp against Barcelona.

Arsenal at home against Barcelona. But all things considered, this is absolutely monumental. The only thing is it doesn't take them through to the next round yet. So let's see what happens next Wednesday. Yeah, plenty to go in this tie. Henry, did Declan Rice need a moment like this in front of the Arsenal fans? Did he need a moment like this in his Arsenal career?

Well, I think if you talk to Declan Rice, he wants moments like that every game. I mean, he's such a competitive individual, but he's also such a team-minded individual. He's got quite a sort of, I mean, he's got a great sense of humor, which came over in his sort of post-match interviews and whenever he talks. But there's a humility to him. There's a work ethic to him. I mean, remember, you know, when he was, you know, he got released by Chelsea when he was, you know, a younger player. And you just think maybe he's not forgotten that. You know, he's still got that drive in him.

He's got that hunger. He wants to win things. I mean, I agree with David. It's a magnificent night in Arsenal's history, but they won't be celebrating anything. There'll be no open-top buses, despite the sort of double-decker theme of the night, going up and down the...

Holloway wrote, they need to go and win this now. And with a performance like that, a statement performance like that collectively and individually by Declan Rice, coming back to your point, yeah, he probably did need to prove it to one or two of the sort of the sceptics in the Arsenal crowd. But I think most of them can appreciate the work effort, you know, the ethic that he's got and

and the pride in which he plays in that shirt. And, you know, he didn't set the fee. And as David says, he's worth more than 100 million now. And David, before the game, there was an obvious narrative about the wingers that were going to be playing in the game at the Emirates, Bukayo Saka, Vinicius Junior. When you think about how Arsenal's season has gone, what might have happened, David, had Bukayo Saka been fit for the whole season?

Well, we know the influence and you can just look at the statistics and Arsenal's results and some of the metrics in his absence. They've fallen off and I think they will be kicking themselves now, Dave, about the Premier League because if they'd been on the shoulder of Liverpool, the way Liverpool have struggled a bit of late, dropping out of the Champions League, two cup defeats and not the best form in the Premier League. We saw that on Sunday at Fulham.

then, of course, things might have been different if Liverpool had more pressure on them. But Arsenal really could have gone further. And it looks like they'll fall short in the Premier League, which puts so much emphasis on this Champions League run. It's just the quarterfinals. They want to get on to the semis and even go further and

potentially get to the final and win it. And, and Saka is a generational talent. He was amazing tonight, to be fair, you know, going past Alaba time and again, one of the best defenders in the world. I know he's coming back from an ACL, but you know, Saka has been a huge loss to Arsenal as have the strikers, but they've got themselves to this point. Let's see if Saka is going to be okay, because obviously he limped off, um,

But what Arsenal have shown is even with problems such as losing Gabriel, which was such a talking point before the match, and Arsenal did have some defensive anxieties, but they came through with a clean sheet against Real Madrid. I think Real Madrid will be fuming that they didn't perform better on the night with the quality of their wingers, all of their attackers, Rodrigo and Vinicius in support of Mbappe. And they didn't look the team that we know they can be.

And the threat is there for the second leg. Defensively, they were poor. Arsenal had so many chances. And on those free kicks, without pouring cold water on Arsenal's celebrations...

I thought it was quite cowardly the way that several players turned their backs. The wall is meant to be there to be brave and to stand up. And they didn't help matters, taking nothing away from Rice's strike. So, yeah, there'll be wounded pride on behalf of Real Madrid, and I'm sure they'll fight back. But Arsenal flourishing. And if they'll have Bakayo Saka for the rest of the season...

It will make a huge difference, as it will for as long as they can keep hold of him. They'll try and renew his contract in the summer. Those talks are expected to start and he really is the jewel in their crown for club and country, as is Declan Rice. A huge time for Arsenal and England. Yeah, and you've both touched on it a little bit, but the second leg, I mean, Real Madrid have this special aura, relationship, whatever you want to call it, with the European Cup.

It's almost written in the stars that they win it every year. I'm thinking of Barcelona against Liverpool in the semi-finals of 2018-19 and that special night at Anfield. I'm thinking of Real Madrid actually coming back against Manchester City 2023 in the semi-final with those late, late goals. Henry, they will go into the second leg believing that they can do this.

They will. And if Bukayo Saka is fit to start, it's not simply the individual contribution that he gives them. He brings Martin Odegaard. He improves Martin Odegaard. He seems to play with sort of more confidence. And obviously he's got sort of, you know, he's running mate next to him. And the two of them work fantastically together.

to gather as well. So, and I think that Kiri or if he starts again, he will be more, more confident. I don't think Arsenal will go there fearing it. I would advise them to get there early because when the Real Madrid fans gather around sort of two and a half hours before, before kickoff, it is an almighty racket and it's difficult for the coaches to, to, to get through.

I would advise them to come from the north rather than from the centre of town because it's absolutely sort of chaos there. It's impossible to get through on foot, let alone in a sort of the away team coach with half of Castile sort of hammering against the side of the bus.

So, look, Arsenal will go there. They've shown tonight they can live with a magnificent team. They will go there full of respect. They'll go there without fear. And they'll remember the image of Carlo Ancelotti on the touchline tonight with his left eyebrow, which is always the sort of, you know...

the mood signal with Ancelotti. That eyebrow was permanently fixed in a state of almost sort of frozen fear and consternation and frustration that his players weren't responding and that this Arsenal team had the temerity to really go toe-to-toe to them, to play with courage, to play with attacking verve, to play with defensive resilience. And Arsenal will go there and, you know, if Arsenal score there, Real Madrid, wow.

that will probably be beyond them. But look, anything's possible with this great Real Madrid team, but Arsenal go there absolutely as favourites, rightly so. David, let's talk about a story you broke today in The Athletic. Manchester City weighing up candidates to replace Kevin De Bruyne with Florian Wurz and Morgan Gibbs-White on their list. What more can you tell us about that?

Yeah, well, replacing Kevin De Bruyne is near impossible, but they will have to fill the void in some way, shape or form. I'm sure they'll be looking at...

at internal solutions such as a Phil Foden and maybe recruiting in a slightly different role or external solutions and you go for a more like-for-like player. And within that, our understanding is that among the options that they will consider are Morgan Gibbs-White and Florian Wurz. There's been a lot of talk about Wurz

Over the last couple of years, he's been high in City's thinking. He stayed at Leverkusen. He may continue there because there's contract renewal talks. I think he's 2027, his deal. If he does leave, would it be to Manchester City? The price is said to be exceptionally high. Real Madrid have been heavily linked as well. But Gibbs White's the really interesting one because City clearly...

think highly of him too and he's done fantastically well at Nottingham Forest we're not saying that it is going to be him or them but it's something that City are paying close attention to now their new sporting director Hugh Gavanna has kind of started properly he's on the ground in Manchester they haven't

sort of stepped up their preparations for the transfer market until he was in the building. Now he is, they can. And this is going to be their chief area of concern among a number of positions. And so it'd be fascinating to see what they do in the absence of such an iconic figure in their modern history.

Let's talk a little bit more about the Champions League because we've spoken a lot about Declan Rice and a great evening for Arsenal in the Champions League. But Harry Kane and Bayern Munich suffered defeat in the first leg of their quarter-final against Inter Milan 2-1. They will now go to Italy to try and overturn that deficit. Henry, I just wonder, I mean, Bayern Munich doing ever so well in the Bundesliga, top of the division,

But Harry Kane, he will have hoped to progress in this tie. How difficult does that second leg look for them now?

I think when you get to a player of Harry Kane's age and stature and experience in the game, you want to win the Champions League. I mean, you know, he's been to a final, but absolutely that will be disappointment tonight. You know, they now have to go to Milan and prove, you know, that they can turn it around. I do think it was quite ironic when we're hearing all about these retirements of these sort of, well not retirements, but players moving on

And Thomas Muller comes on and sort of half rescues Bayern Munich tonight. Obviously Inter then got their winner or first leg winner late on. But for Harry Kane, that would be very frustrating because particularly as he looks at what Bakaya Saka and Declan Rice are doing, if they progress as well. Because the England players, when they do meet up, they will be talking about Champions League when they meet up next in England.

So, yeah, that will be frustrating for him because he's, you know, he's had a magnificent career. The goal scoring records with Tottenham Hotspur, with England's narrow trophies will come his way at Bayern Munich. But he wants the Champions League.

We've got about a minute or so left just to talk about what should be an amazing night for Aston Villa in Paris, David, for their Champions League quarter-final. Emi Martinez sometimes comes across as public enemy number one, maybe a little bit antagonistic towards opposition supporters. He has an interesting relationship with fans in France following the World Cup final. I remember the game that he played against Lille actually in the Conference League last year where he took a little bit of stick from the French football fans and he's been pictured...

with the Argentina colours in his hair. He turned up with a cap which looked like it had the Gaelic rooster on the symbol of France with some Argentina titles stuck over the top of it. He should be in for an interesting reception, shall we say, at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night, David.

Yeah, that's PSG's team talk sorted. Stick it on the wall. Yeah, it adds to the narrative. I think it's all good fun. PSG are a magnificent team. I was at their home leg against Manchester City where their season really clicked into gear. They're arguably favourites for this tournament now. It's going to be a massive task for Manchester, for Aston Villa. But they've got nothing to lose, fearless, and they've got weapons of their own. So,

No complacency from PSG and this adds a bit of spice to it. I think it's going to be an amazing tie and obviously now it looks like probably the winner will face Arsenal so there's a bit more clarity there too. The atmosphere in Parc des Princes will be so raucous. It's brilliant there, especially with the team playing so well minus the egos of previous years and yeah, I can't wait for this one. And Unai Emery, Henry, feels like he's a speciality as the underdog. How will he approach that game?

Yeah, and he's got a speciality in Europe as well. And Marcus Rashford's got a history of scoring goals in Paris as well. So, look, they had such a brilliant transfer window in January. The players that they've got, they can unleash from the bench or from the start. And with a mastermind like Unai Emery, a man-manager and a tactician, Villa will go there full of confidence.