The Gunners went into the game as underdogs, considering Madrid’s exceptional record in the competition for some period of time.
Arsenal had a good opening half where they could have scored at least once. Kylian Mbappe squandered Madrid’s biggest opportunity.
The second half was full about the Gunners. Declan Rice grabbed the headlines with two world-class free-kicks to beat Thibaut Courtois.
Mikel Merino put the club into a 3-0 lead soon after. Arsenal face Madrid in the second leg at the Bernabeu next week.
Rice was undoubtedly the man of the match, while Merino was also brilliant upfront with another key goal.
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Thomas Partey dominated proceedings in midfield. Myles Lewis-Skelly enhanced his reputation further with an assist for Merino’s strike.
However, we were also impressed by Jurrien Timber, who was an unsung hero at right-back. The Dutchman largely nullified Vinicius’s attacking threat.
Timber won eight ground and aerial duels, the most in the game. He made five recoveries and three tackles in 89 minutes before his substitution.
The Ajax graduate had 89 touches against Los Blancos with a passing accuracy of 94 percent.
Timber picked up an early knock in trying to block a Kylian Mbappe shot. He managed to recover to produce one of his best displays.
The 23-year-old had a serious knee injury in his debut season where he made just three appearances.
However, he has stepped up big time in his second campaign at Arsenal.
Timber has already made 43 appearances and looks to have nailed down the right-back position ahead of Ben White for the season at least.
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