Declan Rice expressed that Arsenal are set for “remarkable achievements” following their 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, which secured a 5-1 aggregate win to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
Rice’s outstanding free-kicks in the first leg paved the way for the Gunners to unseat the reigning European champions.
The England midfielder also earned man of the match honours in the second leg, with goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli clinching a memorable victory in Spain.
“This is a truly special night for our club, a night we’ll remember in history. We have a target in this tournament; we want to compete against the best and aim to win it,” Rice stated to TNT Sports.
“There was plenty of talk about their ability to come back, given their history of doing so.
“But we had immense belief and confidence from our performance in the first leg that we could come here and secure the win.
“We understood that we would have to endure some pressure, but we were confident we could claim victory.”
Arsenal is now set to meet Paris Saint-Germain in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009.
The London side has yet to capture European football’s most coveted trophy and last lifted the Premier League title in the 2003/04 season.
Nevertheless, Rice, who transferred from West Ham for a record £105 million ($139 million) in 2023, is optimistic that significant silverware is on the horizon for Mikel Arteta’s squad.
“This is huge. I had a feeling before I joined the club that we were heading in a positive direction,” he remarked.
“This club is destined for extraordinary things in the coming years. We all have complete faith in this manager – he’s simply incredible!
“Reaching the semi-finals is a monumental step for us, and we want to appreciate this achievement.”
Madrid seldom posed a threat to overturn their deficit from the first leg; however, Rice and Arsenal faced a moment of concern when he was initially penalised for a foul on Kylian Mbappe in the penalty area during the first half.
After a lengthy VAR review, the penalty was overturned, and a yellow card that would have ruled Rice out of the semi-final first leg was rescinded.
“I was confident it wasn’t a penalty,” Rice commented. “He just went down easily.“
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
Fanpage: SportArena.com.au.
LiveScore – Live Sports Results & Odds.
