Mikel Arteta already knew Declan Rice Arsenal free-kick plan before Real Madrid masterclass

Mikel Arteta seemingly already knew what Declan Rice was capable of before the Arsenal star scored two free-kicks in the space of 12 minutes to help his side beat Real Madrid 3-0 in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night.

Alongside his brace, Rice put in an unbelievable shift in midfield with Arteta delivering a clear verdict on his overall performance.

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"He's been very determined because we have talked in the last few months, we haven't scored a direct free kick since September 2021; Burnley away, Martin Odegaard,"

"So it's been a long time, so to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career, I mean, what are the odds?

"But he's done it tonight and I'm a big believer, I think the crowd played something with the energy that they put in and it helped us massively to win the game."

For the clash against Real, Arteta made five changes to his starting XI with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard returning after being rested against Everton.

Rice was one of few that featured in both and that allowed Arteta to trial his Rice set-piece plan at Goodison Park.

In the 64th minute, Arsenal won a free-kick just outside the box with Rice chosen to take it.

Similarly to his second goal against Madrid, he went to the keepers' side but Jordan Pickford was equal to it as he parried the powerful strike away from danger, but it was quite clear he was capable of scoring from that position.

Following the 3-0 Champions League win,

Speaking to Amazon Prime Video, he said: "It's been in the locker!

"I've hit the wall too many times or it's gone over the bar.

"Originally we were going to cross it and then I saw the wall and the goalkeeper's position and thought, for the first one, 'just go for it'.