Arsenal star Declan Rice details change he made to free-kick technique

Declan Rice sent the Emirates into pandemonium on Tuesday night as he netted two incredible free kicks in quick successions to inspire Arsenal’s 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid

Arsenal’s Champions League hero Declan Rice has revealed he has been practising free kicks by looking down at the ball after scoring two superb free kicks against Real Madrid on Tuesday night. The England midfielder was the man of the moment in the quarter-final tie at the Emirates after netting the first two free kicks of his career.

Rice curled in his first dead ball in the 58th minute and then converted another just 12 minutes later that was even better to leave the Emirates in ecstasy, leaving fans scratching their heads after he had previously failed to score one during his time in the game.

The Gunners stunned the reigning European champions, winning 3-0 on the night as Mikel Merino added the third, leaving Arsenal in dreamland and giving them a sizeable advantage for the second leg at the Bernabeu.

After the game, Rice was hailed for his free-kick technique by club legend Thierry Henry – who was a pundit for CBS – with the player himself saying he had been practising his efforts on the training ground by not looking up after he took it.

Speaking to Rice, Henry said: “But you know what I like with the technique is you whipped it so hard early and you didn’t let your foot go, if you know what I mean, you held it.”

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Rice replied: “I feel like when I practice these free-kicks, what I tend to notice is when I make the contact and I look up quick, it’s not the strike I want.

“When I look down on the ball and just focus on the ball and know in the spot I want to put it in, I tend to have more consistency with it and obviously, that’s a one in a, I don’t know what moment. I’ve been practicing it and it’s come off and to score two, it won’t hit me what I’ve done.”

Henry continued praising Rice as he hailed him as a “man possessed” against Carlo Ancelotti’s men following his two-goal heroics to leave Arsenal on the cusp of the semi-finals.

“First and foremost, the game that you had, it was crazy the way you played,” he said. “It looked like you played the game because you wanted to prove a point. I don’t know to who – to your teammates, the fans or some people – I don’t know, but you were possessed tonight.”

After the game, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said Rice had been “determined” to take more free kicks after the team went four years without scoring from one as he hailed “magic moments” that gave them their 3-0 lead against Madrid.

“He’s been really determined [to take free kicks] because we have talked in the last few months. We haven’t scored a direct free kick since September 2021, Burnley away, Martin Odegaard,”

“It’s been a long time, so to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude and quality from the same player – a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career. What are the odds?

“But he’s done it tonight. I’m a big believer, I think the crowd played something with the energy they put in and it helped us to win the game. When you play with that energy and commitment from your crowd it makes a huge difference. And then magic moments that decide football matches. The first two goals of Declan I think sums up the night.”

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