Champions League winner Wesley Sneijder has shared his thoughts on Declan Rice’s free kicks for Arsenal against Real Madrid, and he does not believe they were as impressive as many others have claimed. Rice played a key role in the match, scoring two stunning free kicks to help Arsenal take a commanding 3-0 lead over Real Madrid.
Mikel Merino also added a goal to extend the Gunners’ advantage, with Arsenal defying expectations to produce a remarkable performance against the Spanish giants. Most observers believed that Madrid was the favourite to win the competition this season, and many had doubted that Arsenal could overcome the formidable side. While some may have thought that Arsenal might edge out Madrid by a slim margin due to home advantage, few anticipated the manner in which they dominated the game.
Despite Madrid’s excellent defending, Arsenal deserved their victory, and they could have even scored more goals if it weren’t for some heroic goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois. The performance was widely praised, especially the goals from Rice, which many considered to be expertly taken free kicks.
However, Sneijder has a different view. He does not believe the free kicks were particularly exceptional. As quoted by the Daily Mail, he said: “I don’t think the free kick(s) were that impressive. This may sound strange, but it’s extremely easy to curve a ball like that as long as you know how to take a shot, and I know all about this. The wall was at fault here. The same for the 2nd free kick, you saw Courtois moving to his right just before Rice took it, a mistake by the goalkeeper.”
While Sneijder’s opinion may differ from the general consensus, it does not take away from the significance of Rice’s contribution. His two goals were a crucial factor in Arsenal’s victory, and no amount of criticism will diminish the importance of his performance for the team.
______________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
The comments are not really shocking just an opinion. Rice said something similar about the first
“When they [the defenders in the wall] were over a little bit we saw the space Bukayo [Saka] said if you feel it, go for it. I thought I’m going to take this”
Sorry, but those are very odd opinions. They may be ex-professionals and their views may carry some weight but to dismiss those free kicks does not make sense.
Sorry Wesley, no shine can be taken off this glitter.
Well, you could argue that all goals could be prevented IF a defender or goalkeeper did this or that. By that logic they’d be no impressive goals in the sport. Woulda,coulda,shoulda….
I think Declan’s second goal could not be prevented even if you change Thibaut’s position. Lot’s of times people say a shot is top corner when it’s just close to top corner. Declan’s shot was literally top corner. No goalkeeper is saving that.
Onyango,
I’m with you on this. Now while there are some exceptional goals scored, the vast majority of them can be prevented at some point during the build up if the defending team do their job correctly. But obviously that’s not always going to happen. But I think it’s fair to say, that there is in most cases something that could have been done better to prevent conceding.
Snijder would have never scored a goal if opponents did well to prevent it from happening. Short summary- He was never a good player!!
Snijder was class
Amazing season in 2010