The Colossus Of Madrid

History buffs will know that the Colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic statue of the Greek Sun God, Helios. It was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Last night, Declan Rice bestrode the Santiago Bernebeu like a giant himself, dominating Real Madrid. A colossal performance from somebody who we know already was a fine player, but has now announced his brilliance to the world.

Rice completely outshone Jude Bellingham (whose petulant behaviour during and after the match meant that some Arsenal fans have now dubbed him Jude B*ll*nd). He was up and down the pitch all night, getting tackles, blocks and interceptions in as required, but not afraid to break forward and help set the tone for Arsenal moving the other way. A performance that reminded me in many ways of peak Steven Gerrard.

Of course, Rice wasn't the only hero of the evening. But what really impressed me most - apart from the utterly disciplined and professional team performance - was the bravery of firstly the Manager in devising the tactics, and then of the team - as a whole - in carrying them out to a 'T'. Not prepared to allow Madrid to dictate play, Arsenal chose their moments - especially early on - to press high. This put Madrid on the back foot, and prevented them from getting into any sort of rhythm. The drive up top in the press, especially from Odegaard, Merino and Saka, meant that Madrid couldn't develop any pattern of play. And with Martinelli buzzing everywhere, the home side really struggled and rarely looked like clawing back the deficit.  

There were, of course, a few moments that could easily have been turning points or momentum changers. Arsenal's early penalty - correctly awarded by VAR after the referee missed it - ought really to have settled the nerves. Who knows what Asencio was thinking as he hauled Merino to the ground at a corner? And frankly who cares? But we simply weren't prepared for what happened next, as Starboy tried something he'd never done before in a competitive match; a 'Panenka'. 

What was he thinking, we must have thought, as it went horribly wrong and Courtois saved easily. I'm very firmly of the opinion that the Shearer method is the way to go - aim for a top corner and hit it as hard as you can. But Saka's weak and misdirected attempt lobbed gently to the goalkeeper's right. 

My first thought was that the moment could a) be a momentum changer, and b) might affect Saka's confidence. 

• On the first count, when Mbappe threw himself to the floor a few minutes later - the referee buying it; awarding a very soft penalty - was that the two penalty incidents would be how the match would be remembered. Fortunately, the VAR alerted the referee to the softness of the award and sent him to the screen. It was clear that Mbappe had thrown himself to the ground at the slightest touch from Declan Rice, and following a 5 minute delay (ludicrous) the penalty award, and subsequent yellow card for Dec, were both rescinded. In the Premier League, that's not happening; the VAR would back his mate up and cite the lack of a 'clear and obvious error'. On the other hand, I don't think that Arsenal get their penalty if Asencio's foul on Merino occurs in a Premier League game. Maybe I'm paranoid, but for me these are yet another example of how poorly the VAR regulations are applied in England
• On the second count... well, not a bit of it. Starboy stood up tall and got on with what he needed to do; which was torment David Alaba (who, by the way, might easily have been sent off as early as the 8th minute for a horrific attempt at a 'reducer' that wiped Saka out). For me, it's never too early for a red card if the offence demands it. And Alaba wasn't the only Madrid defender who should have seen one!

Meantime, Madrid's aggression, which had already led to two bookings, had seen Rudiger haul Partey to the ground prior to a free kick. He was to repeat the action not once, but twice later on Timber, and also barrelled into Merino late; and was then inexplicably not even booked - let alone sent off - for a stamp on MLS's mid-section in the second half. It took until the 85th minute for him to finally receive the yellow card he fully deserved. Lenient refereeing; and B*ll*nd should also have seen yellow for also manhandling Timber to the ground, followed up a little later by a nasty tackle on his England colleague Rice. But as it seems is becoming prevalent in the refereeing world, foul play is not sufficiently punished, but Raya received a yellow for time-wasting just after the half hour. I can't get my head around this.

There was an interesting incident as the players walked off at half-time, when the injured Carvajal took it upon himself to try to get under Saka's skin; first verbally and then by laying a hand on his neck. Saka was livid; and whilst I'm not sure if the Spaniard was punished for it, he should have been! However, and as we well know, it's difficult to ruffle our Starboy. In any case, Arsenal had reached half-time safely at 0-0.

As the game wore on, Arsenal's tactics were clear. Happy to let Madrid have the ball in front of them in a mid to low block, they were doing to Madrid what so many do to them. And at 3-0 up, why the hell not? And Madrid seemed, frankly, devoid of ideas. They fell into the trap of lumping crosses into the Arsenal penalty area - something we've quite often accused Arsenal of being naive enough to do to certain teams - but with Saliba, Kivior and others looking solid, and space at a premium, it was doomed to failure. Madrid ended up with a total of 46 almost entirely ineffective crosses in the game. Chuck in a bit of gamesmanship/time-wasting, and the home crowd grew increasingly more frustrated. On the television, what we could hear alternated between whistles (at their own players) from the home crowd, and some of the all too familiar songs from the Arsenal cohort. 'Allez Allez' came out on several occasions, and we also got at least one 'You've only come to see the Arsenal'. I did get a little jittery, however, when the away fans began to 'Ole!' Arsenal passing as early as the 55th minute!

Arsenal killed the tie stone dead in the 65th minute. A delightful passing move involving Saka, Odegaard (twice), Rice and then Merino saw the latter cleverly slip Starboy in for a delicate chip over the advancing Courtois. A thing of beauty and my heart rate - which hit 80+ prior to the game and went over 90 during the penalty incidents - finally dropped back to normal. To put into context, when Merino scored Arsenal's third in the first leg it had hit an astonishing 160; but in truth I was pretty relaxed by the latter stages of the first half. Weren't you? And Saka, of course, had answered the question about whether his confidence had taken a hit from the penalty miss in the perfect manner.

Rather disconcertingly, Real equalised almost immediately, when Saliba dallied on the ball and was punished by Vinicius Jnr. In truth, whilst this and the penalty miss by Saka were big errors, they weren't anything like as critical in the long-term as the stupid yellow card that Partey picked up late on for reacting to the Rudiger infraction that finally saw him carded. I can forgive the occasional playing lapse, but a mental error like the one Partey made could yet cost Arsenal dearly, as he is now going to miss the first leg of the semi-final.

When Mbappe injured himself and limped off in the 75th minute, I literally put my feet up. Arsenal pretty much cruised through the rest of the match - Partey's yellow card notwithstanding (and Rice was absolutely furious with the Ghanaian!) - and the Arsenal fans could be seen partying up in their corner of the Bernebeu.

The icing on the cake was provided by Gabriel Martinelli. Yet another futile cross was headed out by Kivior, and Merino's threaded pass found the sprinting Brazilian. He outpaced Fran Garcia and finished in Henry-esque style into the far corner. Buenos Noches, Madrid!

So what can we take from this win? Well firstly, as I've already mentioned, they are superbly coached and organised, and even in the absence of Gabriel (and White and Calafiori) have a fabulous defence. Declan Rice was magnificent - again! - and rightfully received his second successive Player of the Match award, Of the others... well, let's go through them all:

• Raya - solid. Did everything he needed to do tidily; although I'm going to blame him just a little for playing Saliba into a bit of trouble for the equaliser
• Timber - another 9/10 performance. Saw Vinicius Junior off comfortably
• Saliba - despite the error, was outstanding once more. Took the brunt of the organisational pressure up on himself in the absence of Gabriel, and marshalled Kivior superbly
• Kivior - a really solid performance. Rarely under pressure, and rarely ruffled. He's slotted in seamlessly for Gabriel, and we're seeing the player that Arteta knew he was buying. A performance like this puts several million on his transfer fee, should Arsenal decide to sell him
• MLS - it's difficult to fathom that the kid is just 18. Another mature performance, both in defence and also with the guts and knowhow to feel happy to invert into midfield when he could. Superb
• Partey - an idiotic yellow card, yes; but otherwise did his job perfectly, Covered the space. Put his body on the line. Had 100% passing accuracy. Give him another year, Mikel
• Rice - what can anyone say? He was everywhere - snuffing out Madrid continually, and launching counter-attacks. A £105m bargain!
• Odegaard - a little off range with his passing - as he has been quite a lot this season - in the first half - but never stopped showing for the ball, and dovetailed well with Saka (as you'd expect). Covered more ground than any other player
• Saka - pretty much impeccable apart from the penalty miss. To think that he's still not fully fit! World class
• Martinelli - got the reward he deserved for his hard work with his goal. Right back to form now
• Merino - gloriously understated. Never stopped working, closing down and filling gaps. Got his just rewards with both assists, and is frankly doing a remarkable job in his new role

As for talk of a remontada (comeback) from Real - well, that was all it was; talk. They barely had a sniff. In truth, they're not a vintage Madrid side, and it's almost as if the acquisition of Mbappe - a fantastic footballer but not really a team player - has upset their applecart. Arsenal were playing history, and the aura of the stadium, as well as the 11 in front of them. They were largely unruffled by any of that, and fully deserved to go through.

And so we move on to PSG. Things don't get any easier, do they? But what do you expect - this is the Champions League! Still, we saw Viila demonstrate what can be done if you can get at them - they are not unbeatable; although I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from the fact that Arsenal have already beaten them comfortably in the Group stages of this competition, as they are playing considerably better now. But Arsenal can certainly overcome them.

I'd love to go to Paris. The second leg is scheduled for my 65th birthday! But with precisely zero away points my chances are low to zero. Still, if you hear anything...

Ipswich away next. Back to the grind of the Premier League. But Arsenal must keep going. Even with the three or four changes that I expect for Sunday, they should really have far too much for their soon-to-be-relegated hosts. In the meantime, bask in the glory. COYG!