Bukayo Saka told me to ‘go for it’ – Declan Rice on his freekick against Real Madrid

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice revealed his teammate Bukayo Saka told him to go for the goal from a freekick when he scored the first goal for Gunners against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal clash at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

Rice scored a brace from free kicks and Mikel Merino also scored for the home team to give them a 3-0 advantage against the 15-time champions.

Rice revealed set-piece coach Nicolas Jover urged him to cross but he backed himself to beat Madrid’s wall and goalkeeper.

“He [Jover] is telling me to cross. It didn’t make sense. I’m happy I took it. Bukayo said, ‘If you feel it, go for it.’ I looked at the wall and the keeper and thought, ‘I can bend this around the outside,'” Rice said post-match.

“It’s been in the locker, but I’ve hit the wall too many times or it’s gone over the bar. Originally we were going to cross it and I’ve just seen the wall and goalkeeper’s position. So I thought just go for it.

“The second one, it looks far out. At first I was going to go over the wall but I practise going to the keeper’s side a lot and I just went with it. After the first I just had the confidence.

“It’s not going to hit me now because there’s another leg to go. I’m over the moon. But in a few years’ time this will really hit me that what I’ve done tonight was really special. All my career I’ve had people telling me to shoot more and that I need to create more stuff. It’s confidence. I need to keep reminding myself that I can do it.”

Arsenal are looking to qualify for the semifinal of Europe’s elite tournament for the first time since 2009. The second leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu on 16th April.