Henry lauds 'possessed' star in 'crazy' claim as Fabregas gives 'special mention' to different Gunner

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was taken aback by the performance of one Gunners star against Real Madrid as he was like a man “possessed”.

The Gunners shocked Real Madrid on Tuesday night as they dismantled Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, winning 3-0 at the Emirates.

All of Arsenal’s players deserve credit for this remarkable result, but England international Declan Rice has earned most of the plaudits for scoring two stunning free-kicks to round off a brilliant solo performance.

Rice’s goals put Arsenal in control before makeshift striker Mikel Merino added a third in the match’s closing stages.

Henry hailed Rice after his “crazy” performance against Real Madrid.

“First and foremost, the game that you had, it was crazy the way you played,” Henry said.

READ: Rice unveils new secret free-kick weapon as Arsenal dominate and dismantle Real Madrid

“It looked like you played the game because you wanted to prove a point. I don’t know to who – to your teammates, the fans or some people – I don’t know, but you were possessed tonight.”

Rice’s two free-kicks were won by Bukayo Saka, who sparkled against Real Madrid as he caused their defence no end of problems in his first start since returning from injury.

After the match, Gunners legend Cesc Fabregas gave a “special mention” to Saka.

“I know that all the highlights will be on Declan Rice and rightly so,” Fabregas said.

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“But for me, Bukayo Saka, a special mention, because in football, when you see special talent like that, to do what he did against Real Madrid, hats off to him!”

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has encouraged his side to “write” their “own history” in this season’s Champions League.

“When you’ve not played against this team for 20 years, you’ve not had a proper run in this competition, you have to be prepared to write your own history,” Arteta said.

“It’s on nights like this, that you can write your own history. It came from the collective and individual quality of our players. And now we have a lot more to give.”

He added: “We’re going to enjoy the win but we know it’s half-time and we’re going to have to be even better in Madrid. I was very convinced [this could happen]. I could sense in the build-up we could create a lot of problems.

“But you have to make it happen. If you have that mindset and belief it can happen, you can deliver it. We did that but it’s only half-time.”

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