WAYNE ROONEY has enraged fans after naming just THREE Arsenal players in his combined XI with Real Madrid.
The Gunners are in the Spanish capital to face the LaLiga giants in their Champions League quarter-final second leg tonight.
LIVE BLOG: Latest news from Real Madrid vs Arsenal
The Premier League side shell-shocked the reigning European champions with a stunning 3-0 first leg win a week ago.
Two outrageous Declan Rice free-kicks were finished off by a slick curling finish from Mikel Merino, to leave Madrid needing to create club history in order to come back.
Arsenal fans believe they have one foot in the semi-final, with a couple even wearing ‘Champions League WINNERS‘ shirts against Brentford on Saturday.
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Supporters have every belief after watching Mikel Arteta’s defence nullify superstars Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr last Tuesday.
So the Emirates faithful have laid into Rooney for leaving so many Arsenal players out of his current combined XI.
Speaking to TNT, Rooney began with choosing world class goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois over David Raya. Seems plausible.
But fans were left baffled when Wazza picked Lucas Vasquez – a makeshift right-back for Madrid – over Jurrien Timber.
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The Manchester United legend can be forgiven for backing Antonio Rudiger over Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba over Raul Asencio.
Rooney also picked Myles Lewis-Skelly over David Alaba at left-back.
But there were plenty of question marks when Eduardo Camavinga – who was sent off at the Emirates – earned a spot over Thomas Partey.
The final Arsenal player chosen was Rice over Federico Valverde.
That means Jude Bellingham made the cut over Martin Odegaard.
And after a few seconds of stewing, Bukayo Saka was completely LEFT OUT for Rodrygo on the right wing.
There should be few complaints over Vinicius and Mbappe completing the line-up over Gabriel Martinelli and Merino.
But, naturally, Arsenal fans were outraged with Rooney’s picks – with a few teasing the ex-England striker about his poor managerial career.
One said: “Not putting in Saka over Rodrygo has got to be one of the worst takes I’ve seen.”
A second quipped: “Finally, I have found out the reason why he is always sacked… poor first team selection.”
Another said: “Camavinga over Partey… This man is not Ok. He needs to be checked. Rodrigo and Vasquez over Saka and Timber.”
A third added: “Lucas Vasquez in front of Timber is just football malpractice!”
Rooney was forced to defend himself on live TV after being caught jokingly whispering behind Gabby Logan’s back on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, supporters been rocked by the ever-so-close comebacks of Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund last night.
After going 5-1 down on aggregate, Villa mounted an incredible revival to bring the score to 5-4 across to two legs.
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And they could’ve won the game enough to go through, before missing untold chances at Villa Park.
Meanwhile, Dortmund also gave Barcelona a scare after climbing close to a 5-3 aggregate scoreline on Tuesday night.
Arsenal ratings vs Real Madrid as Declan Rice’s free-kick thunderbolts earn him an ELEVEN out of 10
BEND it like Beckham? More like bend it like Declan…
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…
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
