Spanish media stunned by Arsenal masterclass in Madrid rout | OneFootball

If Arsenal fans were wondering how their club’s stunning 3–0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final was received in Spain, the reaction from the country’s three biggest sports dailies delivered a remarkably unified message: devastation for Madrid, dominance from Arsenal, and Declan Rice as the destroyer-in-chief.

The tone and intensity may have varied — from Sport’s gloating Catalan glee, to AS’s blend of tactical post-mortem and spiritual pleading, and Marca’s reluctant concession of superiority — but the headline was the same.

Arsenal outclassed Real Madrid. Brutally, emphatically, and in front of the entire continent.

Sport front page 9 April 2025 TOCADÍSIMOS (Translation: Utterly rocked / Completely shaken) Subheadline: Real Madrid were humiliated at the Emirat…

The Catalan daily Sport, never reluctant to twist the knife where Real Madrid are concerned, did not bother with euphemisms. The headline — El Arsenal ridiculiza al Real Madrid — needed no interpretation.

In a match report penned by Fermín de la Calle, the tone is triumphant, the judgement immediate. “Two majestic thunderbolts from Declan Rice… and a left-footed shot from Mikel Merino buried a mediocre Real Madrid in London.”

Sport, 9 April 2025

The paper openly questioned the effort, discipline and tactical setup of Madrid’s side. “The glass jaw of Los Blancos, dressed in a grey that foreshadowed what was to come, turned a comfortable clash into a total disaster.”

Key players were dismissed with biting contempt: “Vinicius had a dreadful game… Rodrygo hid.” There was praise for Arsenal’s intensity, especially after Rice’s first free-kick goal — the first of his career — cracked the match open: “Arsenal, spurred on by their spirited fans, turned the end-to-end game into a siege.”

The report concluded with a final body blow: “Madrid were without soul or aggression — all of which Arsenal under Mikel Arteta had in abundance.”

THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES FOR MADRID HARSH BLOW FROM ARSENAL TO A DISASTROUS MADRID, ALTHOUGH THE SECOND LEG AND THE BERNABÉU MYSTIQUE REMAIN …

Marca, based in Madrid and traditionally sympathetic to the club, tried to soften the blow with its front page assertion: “THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES FOR MADRID”, but the content within told a more brutal story.

“Rice cannon sinks Madrid”, read the match report headline. According to José María Rodríguez, what unfolded at the Emirates was not simply a loss, but a collapse. “From that moment on, Madrid disappeared — without a response on the pitch or from the bench.”

Marca 9 April 2025 – The Rice cannon sinks the Madrid

Rodríguez noted the ineffectiveness of Madrid’s stars: “Neither the Brazilians nor Mbappé offered any solution,” and described Ancelotti as paralysed.

“Ancelotti did not help the reaction, with conservative and scarce changes.”

Marca’s final summation was severe: “Madrid collapsed spectacularly. You could see it in their faces.” The only remaining thread of hope was, predictably, the venue: “It’s difficult to believe in a miracle… but the Bernabéu remains.”

AS front page 9 April 2025

AS took a more reflective tone, cloaking its dissection in grand Champions League mythology.

“Once more on the edge of the impossible” was both a lament and a warning, appealing to the idea of the Bernabéu as football’s last haunted sanctuary.

Writer Luis Nieto described the performance with surgical clarity, offering no reprieve for Madrid’s most vaunted stars: “Vinicius has suddenly become melancholic… Mbappé misses too many goals. Rodrygo continues to be inconsistent. Bellingham can’t do it all.”

AS April 9 2025

Rice’s free-kicks were recognised for what they were — decisive and devastating. “Declan Rice caught them out with a free-kick that had everything: excellent strike, poor wall placement… Courtois’ dive was in vain.” The second was described as “unstoppable.”

The third goal, from Mikel Merino, was a final nail: “Madrid was on the canvas… and stayed there.”

If Sport delighted in Madrid’s embarrassment and Marca conceded it with grimace, AS dressed it in black and handed the eulogy. “Only the paranormal phenomenon of the Bernabéu can stop Arsenal now.”

Across all three papers, the themes were remarkably consistent. Arsenal were fitter, faster, better coached. Declan Rice was unplayable. Carlo Ancelotti was left without answers. Real Madrid, who have so often made the impossible look routine, were this time overwhelmed.

Arsenal did not win through luck, controversy, or circumstance.

They won because they were better.

And even in Spain, they admitted it.