I write this column when I return to London from Madrid, but I’m honestly going to summarise exactly how I feel after the event at the Bernabeu last night.
It won’t be bigger than what Arsenal did at the 15-time European champions home. They’ve grown old right in front of us. It was very special to witness.
Declan Rice was incredible on two legs.
It was just as 180 minutes of performance as seen by the biggest players.
Obviously, he got a lot of praise after a free kick on his first foot, but obviously the performance he produced with the Bernabeu was good enough to get it.
He was a huge thing in the heart of the midfield. I don’t think there was a single grass leaf he hadn’t covered on that pitch.
It was a tireless exhibition. Age performance at the biggest stage from Arsenal’s £105 million men.
It didn’t matter who he stood up against. No one could get close to him.
He was everywhere, from breaking Madrid’s offense on one end to pushing Arsenal forward on the other.
When it comes to his performance, you really can’t put one thing away. That’s what makes it so special. We’ve encapsulated everything we need and what we need for a midfielder.
Perfect all-around display.
Jude Bellingham couldn’t deal with Declan Rice – and that showed
We could see how annoyed Jude Bellingham was. Like all the best players, Bellingham clearly has an ego. You can see that by playing and being fair he is that rog arrogance that stands out from most other players. He feeds it.
However, his ego was clearly hurt by Rice’s suspicious way of shadying him on two legs.
There was only one English star midfielder on the pitch with the Emirates and the Bernabeu, but that certainly wasn’t Bellingham.
The rice season was a tough start. Like most players who were in the Euro and were deep in the competition, he really struggled to hit the top form for the first few months of the campaign.
But he was there now and he has been there for the past few months.
There are very few large money signatures that cater to the price. To see it, we must see the biggest transfer in football history.
Most of the prices are larger, but not available in rice.
“DeClan Rice, We Get He Has A Half Price” is a song sung by Arsenal fans. It’s very difficult to argue with that.