Perhaps David Moyes had a point when he said, a few weeks ago, that Arsenal still owe him £50 million for Declan Rice. Arsenal paid £105 million to sign Rice from West Ham United but, in the eyes of Moyes and those who worked with him in east London, that fee really should have been significantly higher.
Since those comments, Rice has twice faced the European champions at the highest level of club football. He has not only confirmed that he is prepared to play on this stage, but also that he is capable of defining and dominating such matches, of imposing his own personality on these games and moulding them into whichever shape he chooses. £150 million? Not even a valuation of £200 million felt excessive after Rice had powered Arsenal to victory here.
One of the obvious plot lines before these two meetings of Arsenal and Real Madrid was the battle between Rice and Jude Bellingham, the England team-mates. Two alpha males of the midfield, going head-to-head in the most enthralling of heavyweight clashes.
In the end, though, it was barely even a fight. Bellingham could not come close to matching Rice for influence, character and match-winning impact. In the first leg, Rice delivered spectacular goals while Bellingham offered little of note in the opposition half. In the second leg, Rice produced the most monstrous of midfield performances while Bellingham was reduced to a fringe role.
Bellingham’s fierce competitiveness is well known and there was no doubt that his struggles, and indeed the difficulties faced by Madrid as a collective unit, bothered him as the Santiago Bernabéu crowd lost their belief. For a spell in the second half here, Bellingham appeared to be on the brink of losing his temper. He tussled with Rice near the touchline, and then lunged aggressively towards Jurrien Timber.
A secondary element of their contest is that Rice and Bellingham are both in contention for significant leadership roles with the England team. They are two of the obvious candidates to one day replace Harry Kane as captain.
These Champions League nights do so much to define the status of such players, and it was Rice who left the Bernabéu in an elevated personal position. In world football, he was already highly regarded. Now, it feels increasingly fair to ask if there are any other players in the European game who could have done what Rice has done over the past week.
“It is such a special night for this club, an historic night,” he said. “We had an objective – we want to win this competition. We had so much belief and confidence that we had enough to come here and win the game. We had it in our mind and we have done it in real life.”
After all the talk of another special Madrid comeback, or “remontada”, Rice had this game within his control after around 30 minutes of action. By then he had been cleared of fouling Kylian Mbappe in the penalty box (watch video below), and had responded by puffing out his chest and powering around the pitch. There were defensive clearances, high-speed interceptions and surging runs into the final third.
A penalty for Real Madrid is overturned following a VAR review on Declan Rice’s challenge.
The deadlock is yet to be broken at the Bernabéu 🔐
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/i78Fon4BWn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2025
Best of all, perhaps, was Rice’s remarkable defensive block on Bellingham, shortly after the half-time break. The younger man momentarily appeared to have escaped Arsenal’s midfielder, but Rice is known as “the horse” among the Arsenal players for a reason. Expanding his lungs and stretching his legs, he galloped from behind and produced a crucial challenge. It told the story of their personal duel.
There are plenty of statistics that illustrate the complete nature of Rice’s showing here: a total of 29 passes, 12 carries and 16 defensive actions. But this was not a night for numbers. For Rice it was a night for charisma, for energy, for soaking up the supposed power of the Bernabéu and removing it from his team.
“He has been decisive in the tie,” said Mikel Arteta. “Today, in a different way [than in the first leg]. I think he was immense. His presence, the power that he showed, how composed he was with and without the ball. He lifted the team in many moments and turned the game in our favour. That is what you need at this level, for players to step up and contribute. He has certainly done that.”
Rice was not the only such leader in the Arsenal team, of course. Mikel Merino literally led from the front, assisting two goals. Bukayo Saka also led by example again, demonstrating his resilience by bouncing back from his botched penalty with a delicate second-half dink. Jakub Kiwior, a player who has never been able to nail down a regular place in Arteta’s defence, had his finest night in an Arsenal shirt by far.
Of them all, though, it was Rice who truly caught the eye in one of the great arenas of European football. A London boy, representing a London team, and proving that he was right to say his move to Arsenal would take him to another level as a player.
A defining theme of Rice’s career at the Emirates Stadium is that his best performances have come against the biggest teams. The tougher the opponent, it seems, the better he plays. Well, they do not come much tougher than the European champions, in the much-feared Bernabéu, and midfield performances do not come much better than the one Rice produced here.
Perhaps David Moyes had a point when he said, a few weeks ago, that Arsenal still owe him £50 million for Declan Rice. Arsenal paid £105 million to sign Rice from West Ham United but, in the eyes of Moyes and those who worked with him in east London, that fee really should have been significantly higher.
Since those comments, Rice has twice faced the European champions at the highest level of club football. He has not only confirmed that he is prepared to play on this stage, but also that he is capable of defining and dominating such matches, of imposing his own personality on these games and moulding them into whichever shape he chooses. £150 million? Not even a valuation of £200 million felt excessive after Rice had powered Arsenal to victory here.
One of the obvious plot lines before these two meetings of Arsenal and Real Madrid was the battle between Rice and Jude Bellingham, the England team-mates. Two alpha males of the midfield, going head-to-head in the most enthralling of heavyweight clashes.
In the end, though, it was barely even a fight. Bellingham could not come close to matching Rice for influence, character and match-winning impact. In the first leg, Rice delivered spectacular goals while Bellingham offered little of note in the opposition half. In the second leg, Rice produced the most monstrous of midfield performances while Bellingham was reduced to a fringe role.
Bellingham’s fierce competitiveness is well known and there was no doubt that his struggles, and indeed the difficulties faced by Madrid as a collective unit, bothered him as the Santiago Bernabéu crowd lost their belief. For a spell in the second half here, Bellingham appeared to be on the brink of losing his temper. He tussled with Rice near the touchline, and then lunged aggressively towards Jurrien Timber.
A secondary element of their contest is that Rice and Bellingham are both in contention for significant leadership roles with the England team. They are two of the obvious candidates to one day replace Harry Kane as captain.
These Champions League nights do so much to define the status of such players, and it was Rice who left the Bernabéu in an elevated personal position. In world football, he was already highly regarded. Now, it feels increasingly fair to ask if there are any other players in the European game who could have done what Rice has done over the past week.
“It is such a special night for this club, an historic night,” he said. “We had an objective – we want to win this competition. We had so much belief and confidence that we had enough to come here and win the game. We had it in our mind and we have done it in real life.”
After all the talk of another special Madrid comeback, or “remontada”, Rice had this game within his control after around 30 minutes of action. By then he had been cleared of fouling Kylian Mbappe in the penalty box (watch video below), and had responded by puffing out his chest and powering around the pitch. There were defensive clearances, high-speed interceptions and surging runs into the final third.
A penalty for Real Madrid is overturned following a VAR review on Declan Rice’s challenge.
The deadlock is yet to be broken at the Bernabéu 🔐
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/i78Fon4BWn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2025
Best of all, perhaps, was Rice’s remarkable defensive block on Bellingham, shortly after the half-time break. The younger man momentarily appeared to have escaped Arsenal’s midfielder, but Rice is known as “the horse” among the Arsenal players for a reason. Expanding his lungs and stretching his legs, he galloped from behind and produced a crucial challenge. It told the story of their personal duel.
There are plenty of statistics that illustrate the complete nature of Rice’s showing here: a total of 29 passes, 12 carries and 16 defensive actions. But this was not a night for numbers. For Rice it was a night for charisma, for energy, for soaking up the supposed power of the Bernabéu and removing it from his team.
“He has been decisive in the tie,” said Mikel Arteta. “Today, in a different way [than in the first leg]. I think he was immense. His presence, the power that he showed, how composed he was with and without the ball. He lifted the team in many moments and turned the game in our favour. That is what you need at this level, for players to step up and contribute. He has certainly done that.”
Rice was not the only such leader in the Arsenal team, of course. Mikel Merino literally led from the front, assisting two goals. Bukayo Saka also led by example again, demonstrating his resilience by bouncing back from his botched penalty with a delicate second-half dink. Jakub Kiwior, a player who has never been able to nail down a regular place in Arteta’s defence, had his finest night in an Arsenal shirt by far.
Of them all, though, it was Rice who truly caught the eye in one of the great arenas of European football. A London boy, representing a London team, and proving that he was right to say his move to Arsenal would take him to another level as a player.
A defining theme of Rice’s career at the Emirates Stadium is that his best performances have come against the biggest teams. The tougher the opponent, it seems, the better he plays. Well, they do not come much tougher than the European champions, in the much-feared Bernabéu, and midfield performances do not come much better than the one Rice produced here.
