Positives & negatives from Arsenal's 3-0 win over Real Madrid

A showpiece occasion brought out the best in some of Arsenal's players, including £105m midfield man Declan Rice, whose special free-kicks put the Gunners in command before Mikel Merino added a third against Champions League holders Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium.

Seizing the advantage in the first leg of the quarter-final on Tuesday was made possible by star turns from Rice and Bukayo Saka. The winger was fit enough to start from the off and rewarded the decision with a timely reminder of his class.

Claiming Champions League royalty Real as victims is the jolt Mikel Arteta's much-lauded and even more redefined "project" needed. It looked as if the boost would elude Arsenal for 58 goalless minutes when the familiar lack of a focal point leading the forward line with power, guile and quality threatened to let Los Blancos off the hook.

There was nothing wrong with how Arsenal played between both boxes. Especially during a first half dominated by the muscle of Thomas Partey and the engine of fellow midfield driver Rice.

Their mix of brawn and industry was supplemented by some clever positional play and technical acumen from Myles Lewis-Skelly. He completed an Arsenal midfield trio that stretched Real to breaking point, but rarely beyond it.

Arteta's tactical plan was faultless, but Arsenal struggled to break barriers without a natural goalscorer. Same old, same old until Rice stepped up to strike a peach of a free kick two minutes before the hour mark.

Rice repeated the trick for good measure 12 minutes later, with Merino waiting 300 seconds to cap a wonderful night in the club's history in fine style.

Positives & negatives from Arsenal's 3-0 win vs. Real Madrid

Positive #1: Bukayo Saka electrified

Tying a squad as decorated as Real's in knots says something. It says if Saka isn't worthy of the world-class tag, then who is?

Class was stamped all over an electrifying display from the 23-year-old. His pace and trickery were too much for the away side to handle, but Saka also showed off the developing savvy in his game.

Rarely did he put his body in anything other than the perfect position between defender and the ball. Most notably, when winning the fouls that preceded both of Rice's moments of magic.

Saka found constant joy on the right, even if the less charitable will argue 32-year-old left-back David Alaba is no longer the force he once was. Perhaps that's true, but the Austrian still boasts a trophy-laden CV most top-level footballers would love to own.

You wouldn't know about Alaba's pedigree from the way Saka ran him ragged. Natural acceleration has always been the key to Saka's success, and the ease and suddenness with which he changed gears tore the left side of Real to bits.

Real have been sniffing around William Saliba, but it wouldn't be a shock to see the club switch focus to Saka after this statement game. In the meantime, there's no limit to what Arsenal can achieve as long as Saka stays fit.

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