Mikel Arteta's side cruised into the semi-finals at Santiago Bernabeu while raising some real questions about the Italian coach's future in Spain
This was going to be it for Real Madrid, another remontada was loading. They were 3-0 down after one leg following a miserable performance in north London against a well-disciplined Arsenal side with a point to prove, but none of that mattered, because this is Madrid, and Madrid just win in the Champions League regardless. The laws of footballing nature, supposedly, do not apply on European nights at Santiago Bernabeu… Yeah, right.
All of the hype over what might happen quickly soured into a harsh reality for the 15-time champions. Not only did they fail to mount a miraculous comeback, but they never really showed up against the Gunners. Instead, they were outrun and outplayed on Wednesday, with Arsenal terrific value for a 2-1 victory on the night and 5-1 aggregate thrashing.
There was a brief moment where all of the chatter looked like it might become reality when Bukayo Saka, with a checkered past when it comes to big penalty kicks, saw one denied by Thibaut Courtois early in the first half. Game on – or so we all thought. Instead, Madrid never really got going. They had a penalty shout of their own chalked off, and fell into a fairly woeful pattern of simply hoofing the ball into the box without a striker to aim for. As Courtois pointed out after the match, they tried to play like Joselu was there – only the 6'4 lumbering forward now practices his craft in the Qatari top flight.
In the second half, the pieces fell into place. Saka redeemed himself with a wonderful dink to give Arsenal the lead on the night. Madrid briefly sprang back into life when William Saliba – who had been excellent to that point – dwelled on the ball slightly too long and Vinicius Jr – who had been woeful to that point – capitalised. But that second wave never followed, and Gabriel Martinelli buried a second in stoppage time to put the tie to bed.
Now, Madrid are in trouble. They have been poor all season, and Carlo Ancelotti's signature vibes-guy genius is starting to wane. He had no real tactical setup to actually score goals, and no response for Arsenal's domination of central areas. Throw in another magical midfield showing from Declan Rice – who was superb across the two legs – and Madrid were outclassed.
These things happen at the Bernabeu, and when thrust into unfamiliar territory, Los Blancos tend to look at the man at the helm for blame. Ancelotti, then, has some serious questions to answer.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Spanish capital…
AFPWINNER: Mikel Arteta
'Mikel Arteta is too emotional to win the league.' 'Arteta isn't a tactician.' 'Arteta hasn't actually done anything.' 'Arteta's time is running out.' Those criticisms have been launched at the Arsenal boss for the best part of 12 months now, and until he wins his first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup, they will always be fine ammunition. But beating Madrid home and away isn't a bad start to shutting a few people up.
This was a tough one for Arteta to gauge. Somehow, a 3-0 lead feels dangerous against Madrid. The Champions League voodoo can get to you, the gravitas of the Bernabeu bringing about the sort of spooky energy that briefly turned Joselu into Cristiano Ronaldo. Arteta could have succumbed to it, dug in, and played for a draw. And at times, he did. Arsenal were more than happy to let the home side have the ball, and, for long passages, had 10 men in their own half.
But at the right moments, his team was more expansive, relieved pressure where they could, and attacked with real intent. In truth, the Gunners looked dangerous every time they had the ball, deserved their two goals, and really should have came away with three. What a night for a manager who needed a big performance to silence the critics.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Kylian Mbappe
There's a delicious irony to this season's Champions League. Kylian Mbappe did not want to play for Paris Saint-Germain anymore because he really wanted to play for Real Madrid. Standard stuff. But, of course, the central goal in moving to the Spanish capital was to win the Champions League, given it was pretty much the one thing Mbappe could never do in Paris. He broke all of the individual records at Parc des Princes, won more league titles than you can count, scooped up a few domestic cups, and rallied the Parisian fanbase. But European glory was never achieved, and Madrid was supposed to change that.
So much for that. Let's be clear: this loss isn't necessarily on Mbappe. But winning this competition and showing up on these kinds of nights is why he penned a massive deal to move to Madrid. And instead, he spent most of the game locked down by William Saliba. There were flashes of quality – neat stepovers and half-chances – but he never really threatened. Meanwhile, Madrid were more dangerous after he went off with what looked like a pretty nasty ankle injury that may put his chances of playing in the Copa del Rey final and La Liga run-in at risk.
There will be other nights and further opportunities, yet this feels like an immensely disappointing start to what was supposed to be a glittering chapter in both Madrid and Mbappe's time together.
Getty/GOALWINNER: Declan Rice
The new Patrick Viera? Rice was immense on Wednesday, earning himself a deserved second Player of the Match award of the tie. A couple of wonderful free-kicks from the England midfielder paced the 3-0 first-leg win, but this display might have been better. Rice showcased all-round dominance in the middle of the park, pretty much running a midfield that featured some of the highest calibre talents in world football.
If last week was about finesse, this one was about power. Rice ate up ground like a machine, flew into tackles, won his headers, and made a number of key defensive interventions. And no one for Madrid could quite catch him, either. Rice completed 25 of 26 passes, created two chances, and constantly broke the lines with some driving runs. On the other side of things, Jude Bellingham was rendered more or less anonymous by his international team-mate's physicality and fearlessness.
Yes, he had the table set by Thomas Partey's intuition behind him and Martin Odegaard's creativity in front, but Rice did all of the bits in between, turning in another fine showing to lead Arsenal to a famous win.
AFPLOSER: Carlo Ancelotti
So, is this it? So much of Ancelotti's brilliance has been based on the fact that he can take a bunch of superstars who perhaps don't quite fit together as a unit and produce an excellent team. No striker? Jude Bellingham can become a world-class false nine. No right winger? Federico Valverde will play there. Don't really rate Ferland Mendy for a while? Eduardo Camavinga will do a job at left back. And the cycle tends to repeat. Players plug holes, and then the mentality he instils does the rest.
Wednesday suggested that this Madrid side is one ask too many for the legendary Italian. In fairness, their squad is a bit of a mess right now. They lack a tempo-setting central midfielder, and are without a world-class right back and centre-back.
But there was no real plan on Wednesday, either. Madrid crossed the ball 42 times against Arsenal, and completed just seven of them. Ancelotti didn't have answers for the Gunners' defensive structure, or their effectiveness on the break. If there was a setup or identity to Madrid, you'd have to look really hard and get admittedly creative to find it.
It's fair to wonder what happens next. Madrid can still catch Barcelona in La Liga, and play the Catalans in the Copa del Rey final on April 26. They could still end this season with a double, but their chances look slim if things don't improve. And with Xabi Alonso waiting in the wings to take over while Brazil attempt to tempt Ancelotti away , it feels like a matter of time until he moves on.
