Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side were “prepared to write their own history” after thrashing 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid in the first leg of this season’s quarter-finals.
Arsenal continued their winning run against Los Blancos, having eliminated them in the last 16 in their only previous meeting in 2006, with a stunning performance and result at the Emirates which Paul Merson labelled the best in the stadium’s 19-year history.
Speaking after the 3-0 victory, Arteta left little doubt about the magnitude of the result.
“When you’ve not played against this team for 20 years, you’ve not had a proper run in this competition, you have to be prepared to write your own history,” he said.
“It’s on nights like this, that you can write your own history. It came from the collective and individual quality of our players. And now we have a lot more to give.”
Arteta did sound a note of caution, repeatedly reminding his players – and the wider world – it was still “half-time” in the tie ahead of next week’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
“We’re going to enjoy the win but we know it’s half-time and we’re going to have to be even better in Madrid,” he added. “I was very convinced [this could happen]. I could sense in the build-up we could create a lot of problems.
Rice scored two stunning free-kicks
“But you have to make it happen. If you have that mindset and belief it can happen, you can deliver it. We did that but it’s only half-time.”
The Arsenal boss said both his side’s collective performance and “moments of magic” had been the difference on the night, and highlighted Declan Rice’s double – his first direct goals from free-kicks – but revealed his dead-ball prowess had been long in the making.
“Declan’s been very determined because we have said in the last few months that we have not scored a direct free-kick in three-and-half years,” he said.
“So, to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude and of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free-kick before in his career, what are the odds?
“This night was all about two factors; one is the atmosphere that we created 15 minutes before kick-off with something I haven’t seen before. And then the magic, the individual moments that decide all matches. And the first two goals from Declan sums up the night.”
Watch the best of Sky Sports News’ Paul Merson reacting to Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid, which he described as the ‘greatest night at the Emirates’
Ancelotti: We struggled physically and mentally
Carlo Ancelotti pulled few punches in his assessment of his team’s performance after shipping three goals in 17 second-half minutes to give Real Madrid a huge task on home soil in the second leg next week.
The veteran boss, who has won more Champions League medals as a manager than anyone else, admitted Real had failed to react after falling behind to Rice’s free-kick double – and was left to watch on frustrated as they failed any kind of response following Mikel Merino’s third.
“It’s been very difficult for us. We thought the team were strong coming into the game, in the first half we were organised,” he said.
“Then after the two goals we conceded from free-kicks, the team struggled mentally and physically. The level dropped.
“It was difficult, it was finishing the game in that way. Normally this team raise their game towards the end of games, it was disappointing and poor.
“We have to be critical of ourselves here and do everything we can next week to recover.”
Given Real’s comeback record in Europe in recent years, there will be questions asked whether they can produce another historic night themselves at the Bernabeu next week, but Ancelotti did little to raise expectation of his side progressing to the semi-finals after such a bruising first leg.
“The possibilities are quite low but we have to try 100 per cent and do everything we can,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity to show a response to a pure game.”
