Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid: Player ratings as Rice heroics inspires Gunners on special night

Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium to put themselves in a comfortable position in their Champions League quarter-final.

Mikel Arteta opted to return to full strength having rested some key players in the draw with Everton. Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey were among those to come back into the side while Mikel Merino moved back to a forward role.

The visitors started strong with both David Raya and William Saliba called into action to keep Kylian Mbappe from finding the back of the net. Arsenal soon turned on the burners to put Madrid under pressure.

Thomas Partey saw an effort from the edge of the box saved before a VAR check denied the Gunners a chance from the penalty spot. Bukayo Saka began to pull the strings on the right wing, running David Alaba ragged on the flank.

The winger beat Bellingham before playing a low cross into the box which agonisingly evaded everyone in red and white. Thibaut Courtois came to his side's rescue just before the break to deny both Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli from close range and ensure the tie was level at the break.

Arsenal came out raring to go for the second half and their reward came just before the hour mark through a sublime Rice free kick. The midfielder lined up from 30 yards out and curled a brilliant effort round the Madrid wall to beat Courtois and make it 1-0.

It turned out that his free kick was so nice, he had to do it twice. Just 12 minutes later, Saka won another set piece, this time closer to the goal, that his fellow England international stepped up to take. He fooled Madrid's shot-stopper and found the top corner with another brilliant strike. It didn't take long for the Gunners to make it three as Myles Lewis-Skelly pulled it back for Mikel Merino to place a fine effort into the bottom corner.

The Gunners saw out the final stages to secure a sensational win over one of Europe's top teams. Their all-important first leg win will see them take a comfortable advantage to the Santiago Bernabeu for next week's decider.

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their brilliant 3-0 win over Real Madrid.

Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

David Raya (GK) - 7.5/10 - Made some good saves to keep Madrid out in the first half. Dominant in the air throughout as he did really well to claim a number of balls put into the box.

Jurrien Timber (RB) - 8/10 - Solid down the right side all evening as he helped keep the visitors' threat to a minimum. Played a really good cross into the box for Rice late in the first half but Courtois was on hand. Taken off in the final minutes.

William Saliba (CB) - 8/10 - Made a crucial intervention to take the ball away from Mbappe early on and did well to deal with the Madrid frontline through the evening. Didn't have much to do during the second half.

Jakub Kiwior (CB) - 8/10 - Quietly impressive display from the Pole who showed why Arteta stuck with him. Misjudged a throw-in that presented Madrid a chance in the opening minute but stepped up after that to be hard to beat.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (LB) - 8.5/10 - Did all that was asked of him as he helped out more than enough in defence as well as drifting into midfield to be part of attacking sequences. Assisted Merino's goal with a smart pullback pass.

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