It was a special night for Martin Ødegaard when he as captain of Arsenal beat Real Madrid and the manager who didn’t believe in him Carlo Ancelotti in the first quarter-final of the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium.
After the match, several things have emerged that make the match special.
Read: It was for you, Ancelotti!
If Real Madrid fans enjoyed the win over Manchester City in the Champions League play-offs a little extra because of the links between Pep Guardiola and Barcelona, the Catalan coach may have enjoyed his glass of wine a little more on Tuesday night while watching Arsenal’s win over Los Blancos. The Gunners take a three-goal lead to the Santiago Bernabéu next week, where they will have to try to avoid one of Real Madrid’s famous comebacks.
The big hero, Declan Rice who provided two of the goals and was named the best of the match.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed after the game that Guardiola also played a role in Real Madrid’s defeat. The former Everton player was an assistant under Guardiola for several years at Manchester City before taking over as Arsenal coach, and spoke to his former boss about meeting Los Blancos.
Read: It costs Arsenal €200 million to put together the attacking line Mikel Arteta dreams of
“We spoke to Pep (Guardiola) a few days ago and I wanted to ask for some advice. It’s important to learn from the best,” Arteta told Sport after the game.
The Basque coach called it a historic evening, but was keen not to get too excited before the return leg.
“When you haven’t played against Real Madrid for 20 years and haven’t had a long career in the Champions League, you have to make history. These supporters will remember this for a long time.
“They (the fans) liked it, but we have time to prepare for the big challenge. The players are full of enthusiasm. This is part of their history. We are aware of the performance we delivered, but we want to talk about the match we have to play in Madrid.
On the other hand, it can be argued – without taking anything from Arsenal – that this was expected against Real Madrid’s defence in the past. Mikel Merino’s third goal on Tuesday night made it 11 goals conceded in Real Madrid’s last four games, extending it to just two games without conceding in 17 games.
