Rio Ferdinand was blown away by the performances of two Arsenal stars after the impressive Champions League victory over Real Madrid.
Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-1 aggregate victory over the European champions.
Having thumped Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal sealed a 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu to move to within two wins of Champions League glory.
The score somehow remained goalless after an eventful opening 45 minutes in which both teams were awarded penalties.
Bukayo Saka missed from the spot – a poor panenka saved by Thibaut Courtois – while Madrid’s penalty was overturned following a VAR check.
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Arsenal opened up a four-goal lead in the tie just after the hour mark as Saka made amends for his penalty miss with a neat finish but Madrid hit back less than two minutes later, Vinicius Junior capitalising on a rare error from William Saliba.
Even after Real Madrid’s first goal of the tie, Arsenal were able to see the game out relatively comfortably, a huge achievement for a team who have gone four successive seasons without a trophy.
There was even more cause for celebration from the travelling fans in injury-time when Gabriel Martinelli burst through on goal and slotted home Arsenal’s second of the night and fifth of the tie.
Manchester United legend and former Champions League winner Ferdinand was hugely impressed by Arsenal and singled out Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly for special praise.
Rice scored two brilliant free-kicks in the first-leg win and produced another commanding display in the heart of Arsenal’s midfielder at the Bernabeu.
Lewis-Skelly, who only made his Arsenal debut earlier this season, also attracted praise after the first leg and again impressed in Madrid against the host’ dynamic forwards.
Discussing Lewis-Skelly’s performance while on co-commentary duty for TNT Sports, Ferdinand said: ‘I’m sorry, is Lewis-Skelly really 18?
‘His date of birth is right, isn’t it? He looks so calm and so cool in and out of possession.
‘Before the game he was on a call, just talking and chilling. He is special.’
On Rice, Ferdinand said: ‘You need games like this in your career. You need to get to places like this to be properly judged.
‘He’s stood up against the holders of this trophy and he’s not just competed, he’s run the show, he’s run the show in both games.
‘He’s put himself in another bracket, I think after these two games he’s in another bracket.’
Ally McCoist was also full of praise for Rice, adding: ‘Over the two games, he’s been the outstanding player on the pitch.
‘He was monumental. He was the best player on the pitch in both games. His level of performance was quite magnificent.’
Next up for Arsenal in the Champions League is a semi-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Premier League sides Aston Villa and Liverpool in the last two rounds.
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