Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both suffered problems in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg.
The Gunners defeated the Spanish giants 3-0 thanks to two superb free-kicks by Rice and Mikel Merino’s sixth goal of 2025. It means they have one foot in the semi-final heading into next week’s second-leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Arsenal would claim the lead at the start of the second half with Declan Rice again involved in the biggest way, stepping up to curl in a direct free-kick. But then things got even better as Rice curled one into the top right-hand corner.
Mikel Merino then unleashed a brilliant strike into the bottom left corner, sparking chaos and wild celebrations at the Emirates Stadium.
However, both Rice and Saka had to leave the pitch in the second half after receiving medical attention from club physio Simon Murphy. Saka, making his first start since recovering from a hamstring injury, was substituted in the 74th minute, with Rice following six minutes later.
Both players were spotted walking fine around the Emirates Stadium at full-time but Arteta was asked about the severity of their individual problems in his post-match press conference. “Yeah I think Dec had an issue with the foot,” the Spaniard said.
“Bukayo after he got tackled from the foul, he had a knock. It doesn’t look serious.”
Saka only returned to action seven days ago when he came off the bench and scored in the 2-1 win over Fulham. He played over 45 minutes in the 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday before starting against Madrid.
The forward had been out with a significant hamstring injury sustained during the victory against Crystal Palace just before Christmas. His comeback has provided a lift for Arteta, who has had to rely on a patched-up attack for much of the second half of the season.
Rice has only missed three games in the Premier League and Champions League for the Gunners this season. This weekend, the north Londoners take on Brentford (5.30pm kick-off) and Arteta could rest the duo ahead of the trip to Madrid next week.
Arteta will face the media at the end of the week for his pre-Brentford press conference, where an update on Saka and Rice is expected to be given.