Former Real Madrid star, Wesley Sneijder has downplayed Declan Rice’s impressive free-kicks against his former team, claiming that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made it “very easy” for the Arsenal midfielder to score. Rice had a remarkable game, scoring two direct free-kicks in a 3-0 win for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Sneijder believes Courtois’s positioning and anticipation played a significant role in Rice’s success. “He [Courtois] assumes Saka will take it, is a left-footer. He can move the wall to the right, take his own corner,” Sneijder explained. “A right-footed player should never shoot around the wall from that angle. That’s not allowed.”
Rice’s free-kicks left many in awe, including Kylian Mbappé, who was seen with his mouth agape after the second goal. However, Sneijder thinks that Rice’s achievement was more about Courtois’s mistake than exceptional skill. “If you have a good strike, this is an easy ball,” Sneijder added.
Former defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst agrees with Sneijder’s assessment, stating that the wall was positioned too far to the right, allowing Rice to easily shoot past it. “I think Wesley is right. The wall is too far to the right, and he can shoot it past it. It’s easy to shoot a ball like that,” van Bronckhorst said.
Despite Sneijder’s reservations, Rice’s goals have put Arsenal in a strong position ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal return leg against Real Madrid. Rice himself was left “speechless” by his performance, saying, “To score my first free kick is special. I just had the confidence. I’m speechless, really.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed that his team had discussed the last time they scored from a direct free-kick, which was almost four years ago. “It’s been a long time, to score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude, of that quality from the same player, a player that has never scored a free kick before, what are the odds?” Arteta questioned.