Declan Rice whipped in a pair of sensational free kicks to set Arsenal on their way to a famous win over Real Madrid.
Arsenal ended their Champions League quarter-final first leg with a 3-0 advantage, putting them right on the doorstep of the last four.
It was one of the greatest European nights yet at the Emirates Stadium and former West Ham United star Rice was at the heart of it all.
‘I don’t think it’s gonna hit me what I’ve done’, says Arsenal star Declan Rice
The Gunners will take a handsome lead to the Bernabeu for the second leg and Rice was well aware of the magnitude of the result when he spoke to Arsenal icon Thierry Henry on Paramount+ after the game.
“I can’t describe it,” said the England midfielder. “I don’t think it’s gonna hit me what I’ve done tonight.”
Rice’s elation is understandable and he can now look ahead to a second leg with enormous confidence both in Mikel Arteta’s team and in his own ability to deliver at the highest level.
But there was one declaration that might have caught the ear of supporters of West Ham United, where he spent a decade and made the breakthrough into first-team football.
“Probably the best moment in my career for sure,” added the former Hammers captain.
Hardly an outlandish choice, you might think, but Rice went out on a high at West Ham in 2023, captaining the team in Europe and lifting the Conference League trophy.
That was West Ham’s second European trophy and the first since 1965, when they won the Cup Winners’ Cup by beating 1860 Munich.
The Champions League is a different matter, though, and Rice’s direct impact on the outcome on a special night in North London surely influenced his comments too, FourFourTwo reckons.
“In these big games I always try to step up, go out there and have no fear,” he told Henry.
“What have you got to lose? It’s a game of football against Real Madrid. If you’re gonna go out there and have fear, good things aren’t gonna happen.
“We really believed as a team we could win tonight. I tried to run with the ball as much as I could. I probably should have had two goals in the first half.”
Arsenal travel to Madrid for the second leg when quarter-final Champions League action concludes next Wednesday evening.
