Arsenal told to ‘sack’ key Gunners man after ‘magic’ moment in ‘brilliant night’ vs Real Madrid

Presenter Richard Keys has urged Arsenal to “sack” one individual after they demolished Real Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

The Gunners were widely written off before a ball was kicked in their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, but they head into next week’s second leg as the firm favourite to progress in the competition.

Arsenal have been ravaged by injuries this season, but they produced a remarkable performance to dismantle Real Madrid, winning 3-0 at the Emirates.

Declan Rice was the star of the evening as he scored two sensational free-kicks before makeshift striker Mikel Merino netted a third for the hosts.

Before Tuesday’s game, Rice had not scored a free-kick and Arsenal had not scored a direct free-kick since September 2021.

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Rice’s two free-kicks were both fantastic efforts and after the match, he admitted that Arsenal’s set-piece coach  – Nicolas Jover – wanted him to “cross” the first of them.

“We were saying to cross it,” Rice said.

“When they [the defenders in the wall] were over a little bit, we saw the space. Bukayo [Saka] said if you feel it, go for it. I thought I’m going to take this.

“When you score a goal it’s the best feeling in the world. It didn’t make sense from that angle to cross the ball. It would have to be a delicate pass.

“And when I saw the wall. It didn’t make sense to cross. You know what? I’m happy I took it because it was magic.”

On Jover’s celebrations, Rice replied: “He’s claiming for it, but he’s told me to cross it!”

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Jover has largely been praised in recent seasons as he’s contributed to Arsenal become one of the best sides in Europe from set-pieces, but some have argued that he overstates his importance and attempts to take the headlines away from head coach Arteta.

Keys credited Arsenal for a “brilliant night”, but he took issue with Jover celebrating Rice’s goals and called for the Premier League giants to “sack him”.

“Brilliant night for The Gunners,” Keys said on X.

“I’m glad they didn’t over do it at the end – you never know with Madrid.

“One other thing – if I employed a set-piece coach & we hadn’t scored direct from a FK since Sept 21 I’d be sacking him – not celebrating with him!”