Arsenal vs Real Madrid was arguably the pick of the quarter-final ties in the Champions League. The Gunners hosted the first leg on Tuesday night and despite missing several key stars including Gabriel Magalhaes and striker pair Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal produced a performance for the ages.
Real Madrid were out-thought and out-fought on the night, with Bukayo Saka proving unplayable on the right side. Declan Rice stole the show with a pair of sublime free-kicks, though the quality of Mikel Merino’s first-time finish for the third goal must not be understated.
Making the victory all the more impressive is the fact Real Madrid are the defending champions in the UCL and the bulk of those who played on Tuesday also won the competition with Real back in 2022.
Yet despite Real Madrid’s European pedigree, their abundance of world class stars and the fact they added Kylian Mbappe to their ranks last summer, pundit Roy Keane insisted they’re a “poor team.”
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane suggested any fears of Real Madrid overturning the three-goal deficit in the Bernabeu are completely unfounded.
In his eyes, the current Real Madrid team is a poor imitation of what came before and the quarter-final tie is already over.
“The game is over, Arsenal are 3-0 up and worried – relax,” he said (as quoted by the Evening Standard).
“This is not the great Real Madrid team. They’re not even going to win the league this year – this is a poor Real Madrid team.”
It’s true to say Real Madrid aren’t enjoying the type of season they’re accustomed to. Carlo Ancelotti’s side trail Barcelona by four points in LaLiga and had already tasted defeat in four Champions League matches this year prior to Arsenal making it five.
Nonetheless, the current crop have proven themselves serial winners and describing a team that contains the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe as “poor” is doing a disservice to Arsenal’s achievement in the first leg.
Ian Wright weighs in
One figure who’s less sure the tie is over is Arsenal legend, Ina Wright.
Responding to Keane’s comments, Wright said: “It was an amazing game. I think everybody played well – [Jakub] Kiwior did very well and so did Thomas Partey. Especially Saka, being 50 percent fit – he was amazing.
“The manager has always gone on about the group and their mentality and they had to show it in that game. There were times that I thought Real Madrid played well and the crowd were going off it in that place.
“Real Madrid have never come back from a 3-0 down in the first leg. They’ve never done that so hopefully we won’t be the first. However, they have players that can score goals qu
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