Delightful Declan shines in London.
Declan Rice scored two magnificent free-kicks as Arsenal stunned 15-time winners Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Emirates Stadium.
Rice's unbelievable pair of second-half set-pieces, his first two free-kick goals of his career, were sealed by a brilliant finish by makeshift striker Mikel Merino as Carlo Ancelotti's side collapsed in the capital.
Bukayo Saka made his first start since picking up a hamstring injury in December for the hosts as the holders fielded goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after returning from international duty with a muscle problem.
Arsenal made six changes from their draw with Everton on Saturday as Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey, and captain Martin Odegaard returned to the starting lineup.
Arsenal start brightly
The home side started brightly with Saka causing some early problems with a pair of dangerous deliveries from corners that Madrid managed to deal with unconvincingly.
Thomas Partey then forced Courtois into the first testing save of the evening with a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Kylian Mbappe then blasted over what looked to be the first decent opportunity of the tie.
The Frenchman was played through by Vinicius Jr. after a sloppy pass from Partey, but appeared to be offside anyway.
Mbappe then had a shot saved excellently by David Raya after a superb pass from Jude Bellingham opened the Gunners up.
As Madrid began to take control of the game, Saka put in a superb cross from the right-hand side that Arsenal failed to attack, a ball that any striker would have surely tapped in.
Courtois was then forced into a fine double save a minute before the interval, first denying a well-placed Rice header and then denying Gabriel Martinelli's follow-up.
The Belgian's good reactions kept the tie goalless at the end of the first half.
Arsenal started the second half as they finished the first, Saka and Martinelli causing more problems whilst Mbappe could only find the side-netting with a shot from a tight angle at the other end.
Rice's free-kick double
The tie, and the home crowd, was then sparked into life in the 58th minute as Rice smashed a stunning 25-yard free-kick past Courtois, sending the Emirates into raptures.
The midfielder brilliantly bent his strike around the visitors' wall to set up a crazy 17 minutes in which Arsenal took firm control.
The Gunners smelt blood and were somehow denied a second when Merino and Rice both had shots cleared off the line, either side of another fine Courtois stop.
However, Rice was not to be denied again, producing another wonderful free-kick into the top corner that was arguably even better than the first.
The excellent Saka, who won both free-kicks and caused problems all night for Los Blancos, then limped off for Leandro Trossard, perhaps the only blemish on Arsenal's perfect night.
Merino seals the rout
As Madrid wilted, Merino sent the home crowd into dreamland with a stunning strike into the bottom corner after he was found by the fantastic 18-year-old, Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Mikel Arteta's side were resilient in the closing stages but Raya was very rarely tested and a dreadful night for Madrid got even worse when Eduardo Camavinga was given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
The full-time whistle brought another eruption from the Emirates crowd with the Gunners putting one foot in the semi-finals, which would be the club's first in the Champions League since 2009.
