This is the European pedigree that Mikel Arteta desired, and a victory to go down in Arsenal history. For now... But with the promise of more. Arteta had said his club needed to “create our own story” before this 3-0 evisceration of Real Madrid – a sentence that almost warrants repeating – and this was far more than just that. It was an epic.
They now need to finish that story, both at the Bernabeu next week and maybe even by lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time at the end of next month. There should be no doubt about their capabilities after a victory like this.
Madrid were subjected to the kind of humiliation that many had long suspected was possible from so many campaigns, but that so few teams have been able to do. Arsenal managed it, fully displaying the conviction that Arteta has instilled in this burgeoning side.
The odd thing was, it could have been even worse for Madrid had it not been for Thibaut Courtois, and yet the goalkeeper could be construed as culpable for both of the first two goals. That is perhaps harsh given the sheer quality of Declan Rice’s strikes in his sensational free kicks, before Mikel Merino gave Arsenal the kind of scoreline their performance deserved.
Arsenal didn't just brutalise Madrid, though. They outsmarted them, which is arguably the deeper story of this sensational victory.
Arteta had more injuries and a squad that lacked both the depth and the stars of their Spanish opponents, but you wouldn’t have thought that judging from this rout. That came from the intelligence about how to approach the challenge. They were cannier, Arteta’s pre-match gameplan paying off as they simply didn’t make the kind of mistakes that Madrid usually depend on.
Madrid may not have been playing in white but they looked like ghosts. There was so much more substance to Arsenal.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are now going to have to conjure up the kind of comeback beyond even what they did in 2021-22. Yes, it is Madrid and it is the Bernabeu but Arsenal should not go there with any doubt. They were too good here.
It was a performance worthy of European champions. That ascendancy was reflected by the context of the goals that won it. To think these were Rice’s first free-kick goals at senior level. What a moment to rise to the occasion.
And what a trajectory of finish. The first strike, on 58 minutes, was spectacular enough as the England midfielder whipped the ball around the wall, brought it in from outside the post and into the far corner. Courtois was left flat-footed after Federico Valverde half-heartedly turned his body as part of a wall that didn’t look up to scratch.
The second free kick was arguably even better, given the quality of the placing. It was genuinely Lionel Messi-like as Rice curled the ball into the postage stamp of the far top corner with such satisfying accuracy.
The five minutes that followed were an onslaught: Arsenal didn’t stop and Madrid couldn’t move. Arteta’s side could have made the tie safe in that period alone. Merino had already suggested what he would do with two thunderous strikes that Courtois pounded away.
The goalkeeper had no answer to the next, which brought an almost perfect period of play to a crescendo in the 75th minute.
While the moments were Rice’s and Merino’s, the performances were arguably Bukayo Saka’s and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s. They was sensational. You couldn’t quite call it a statement display, given Saka has already more than announced himself at this level, but this was a display that suggested he is going up a level again. It certainly set David Alaba back.
At left-back, the beleaguered Austrian was being played out of position at this point in his career, but Saka also repeatedly dragged him out of position on the pitch. It was punishing. Arsenal quickly realised this was by far their best outlet, with Saka and Martin Odegaard combining for some devastating interchanges.
Well, devastating to a point. Arsenal were still missing that final touch, the last line of the triangle. There were two moments when Saka flashed the ball across goal only for no one to arrive to offer the finish.
Plenty has already been said about Arsenal’s lack of a striker this season. There were a few other occasions when they opted not to go inside because there was no one there.
It is to Arsenal’s credit that they worked around that. They figured out another way. They were again more intelligent. Saka ended the game looking far more of a star than Kylian Mbappe, who missed such a good chance early on.
Madrid’s capacity for such breaks will, of course, create that one lingering doubt before the second leg. For all the talk about their “aura”, and the intangibles that surround their success, there is obviously something very tangible here, too. It is actually as direct and as physical as you can get. That is hard, world-class pace.
The element that weighed the first half was Madrid’s ability to suddenly accelerate. There is nothing like it in world football. It is as thrilling as it is frightening for the opposition. Jude Bellingham can be hustling for the ball in midfield and then suddenly one of Vinicius Junior or Mbappe is away. The last time anything remotely similar was seen in this stadium was probably when Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to eviscerate Arsenal in 2015-16. Arteta’s side have much more substance and defensive robustness than Arsene Wenger’s then-declining empire, and they showed it here.
They even worked out a way to cut out those transitions by half-time. That was almost as impressive as the attacking.
In his pre-game speech, Arteta ended the call to arms by saying the club now needs to “go even further”. That, remarkably, should now be way beyond Madrid. There’s a better story to be written than even this epic.
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