Mikel Arteta Celebrates Arsenal’s UCL Win Over Real Madrid

Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, expressed his happiness following a thrilling 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

Coach Mikel Arteta’s players displayed a magnificent performance during the Champions League game, particularly in the second half.

Declan Rice emerged as the standout star, netting two spectacular free-kicks that captivated the crowd and shifted the momentum in favor of the Gunners.

His remarkable strikes not only underscored his skill but also energized the team and the supporters alike. Complementing Rice’s brilliance, Mikel Merino added a third goal, calmly finishing Myles Lewis-Skelly’s low cross to further establish Arsenal’s dominance and provide a significant cushion as they head into the return leg next week.

In his post-match interview with Amazon Prime, Arteta marveled at the atmosphere, declaring, “Beautiful. So happy, so proud of the team. We have the opportunity to make a lot of people proud and we certainly have done that.”

He reflected on the electrifying environment at the Emirates Stadium, noting, “I’ve never seen the stadium like this. Before the game, they were already singing and creating a buzz, as if they were playing the game themselves.”

Arteta emphasized the importance of such an atmosphere for major European fixtures, stating, “For big European nights, you need large stadiums that foster an incredible ambiance, along with those individual moments of magic—and tonight, we saw just that.”

He added, “We hadn’t scored a free-kick since September 2021, and tonight, against a titanic opponent like Real Madrid at home in the Champions League, we managed two in just 13 minutes.”