This was Arsenal’s first goal from a direct free-kick since September 2021. The belief was so nice that Rice did it twice. From 25 yards, he fired a shot that swerved in at the top corner.

The England midfielder had never scored a direct free-kick before beating Thibaut Courtois twice. Rice, 26, whipped his first effort around the wall, catching Courtois out to break the deadlock in ...

Mikel Arteta said the first of Rice's curling efforts ended a four-year wait for a direct free-kick, with the last scored by Martin Odegaard against Burnley in September 2021. However, despite it ...

Saka's signal Rice also mentioned Saka's role in ... we haven't scored a direct free kick since September 2021; Burnley away, Martin Odegaard," said Arteta after the game. "So it's been a long ...

Rice found the top-right corner with two dead-ball attempts in the second half, then Mikel Merino added another goal as Arsenal won Tuesday's quarter-final first leg 3-0. He became the first ...

Manager Mikel Arteta said: “Declan’s been very determined because we have said in the last few months that we have not scored a direct free-kick in three-and-half years. “So, to score two ...

If you don’t take the risk, you don’t score.” Rice had never scored from a direct free kick in his previous 338 matches as a professional. Indeed, the last time Arsenal scored intentionally ...