Mikel Arteta praised Declan Rice for ignoring Arsenal’s planned delivery and shooting from the free-kick that opened the scoring against Real Madrid.
Rice scored two direct free-kicks in the 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory, the first two of his senior career.
Rice abandons the crossing plan
Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover wanted the first free-kick delivered into the area. Rice looked at the wall and Thibaut Courtois’s position, then decided to shoot.
“It’s been in the locker, but I’ve hit the wall too many times or it’s gone over the bar,” Rice told Amazon Prime Video. He said Bukayo Saka encouraged him to trust his instinct.
Arteta welcomes Rice’s initiative
Arteta joked that Jover might try to claim credit, but said he loved the midfielder taking responsibility.
“The players have to make the decisions,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference. He wanted players to believe they could change games through their own judgment.
Rice’s second free-kick made him the first player to score twice directly from set pieces in a Champions League knockout match.
Arsenal want more goals from Rice
Arteta said Arsenal had signed an established player but did not want to place a ceiling on his attacking development.
He challenged Rice to score more headers, tap-ins and shots from outside the area. The Madrid performance showed the midfielder had another route to goal when the biggest games demanded it.
