ARSENAL fans branded Wesley Sneijder a “bitter, sore loser” after his “terrible” take on Declan Rice’s free-kicks.
The England midfielder lived up to his £105million price-tag with a pair of set-piece stunners against Real Madrid last night.
Mikel Merino was also on the score-sheet to wrap up a 3-0 win for Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
But it was Rice who stole the limelight with two free-kick goals in the space of 12 minutes.
The ace’s first strike was a scorcher from distance that brought back memories of Real great Roberto Carlos.
Rice then took a leaf out of David Beckham’s book for the second, bending an impossible strike around Real’s wall and into the far-top corner.
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It prompted a brilliant reaction in the Sky Sports studio from Paul Merson, who suffered an awkward wardrobe malfunction in the process.
But one man who failed to be impressed was Dutch icon Sneijder.
The former playmaker knows what it takes to win a Champions League title, having led Inter Milan to a Treble in 2010.
Sneijder also won trophies with Ajax, Galatasaray and Arsenal’s opponents Real.
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And speaking live on Dutch TV channel Ziggo Sport, he boldly claimed that Rice’s free-kicks were nothing special.
Sneijder, who was a set-piece specialist himself, instead reckoned that several mistakes by Real’s defensive wall led to both strikes hitting the target.
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It was a set-piece clinic from the Arsenal midfielder as he scored the first free-kicks of his career against Real Madrid – and the first player in Champions League history to score multiple direct free-kicks in the same knockout stage game.
Thibaut Courtois was on hand to save Real Madrid in a fast paced first half as he pulled off a fine double save to deny a Rice header and a follow-up effort from Gabriel Martinelli.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 58th minute as England star Rice whipped in a sensational free-kick.
Rice then sent the Emirates into the stratosphere with as he added a second with an even better free-kick from the left side of the goal which he rifled into the top right corner.
Mikel Merino then swept a devastating third into the bottom corner from a low cross to put the cherry on a remarkable night.
Rice’s epic showing was enough to earn him an unprecedented ELEVEN in our player ratings.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated the rest of the Gunners…
He boldly claimed: “I don’t think the free kicks 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 second free kick. You saw Courtois moving to his right just before Rice took it. A mistake by the goalkeeper.”
Sneijder’s view was also backed up by former Arsenal star and Double winner Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
He boomed: “I think Wesley is right. You can see that the wall is too far to the left, which makes it easy for Rice to shoot past.”
However, fans strongly disagreed with Sneijder’s take on Rice’s stunning free-kicks.
One said: “What a sore loser.”
Another declared: “Bitter old guy.”
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One noted: “What a terrible take.”
Another added: “Everyone would be scoring a free kick by that logic.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
