Rio Ferdinand performs U-turn on Arsenal player after his performance against Real Madrid

Rio Ferdinand has done a complete U-turn with his opinion on a ‘world-class’ Arsenal player after watching his performance during the Gunners’ 2-1 win (5-1 aggregate) against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Arsenal progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a professional performance against Real Madrid to set up a mouth-watering last four clash with PSG.

The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo tried and failed to overturn Arsenal’s three-goal first-leg lead.

But it was an Arsenal forward who Ferdinand labelled as “world-class” after his performance at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"Saka, in terms of defining and being decisive," Ferdinand said when speaking on TNT Sports.

"I've debated it quite a lot over the years about, 'Is he world-class?' 100%.

"A world-class footballer who will decide matches now for the rest of his career at the top level.

"They've come out on top today. It's only one game over two games, I get that. But it's a chance to think, 'Okay, I'm at the top table, and I'm actually sat here comfortably, and overshadowed the people that were meant to be better than me.'

"It's a great confidence boost."

This comes after Ferdinand previously debated whether the Arsenal and England forward was “top-level”.

"I think Saka is more about, he needs the opportunity to perform at that platform, that level, consistently, and you can consider him then [as world-class],” Ferdinand said in February 2024.

Of course, since then Saka has starred for England at Euro 2024 and been a standout in Arsenal’s 2024/25 campaign contributing with 11 goals and 14 assists in 29 appearances.

On Wednesday evening, Ferdinand took to X to send a message to Gunners fans.

"There you go Arsenal fans…" he wrote on X.

"You can stop tweeting me about it now.

"I have always loved Bukayo, been his biggest fan in an England shirt also. I just wanted to see him do it when it really matters in big Champions League matches against the best teams! Respect."

Saka's evening started off in poor fashion when he saw his first-half penalty saved by Real 'keeper Thibaut Courtois - although he made up for his error with a smart chipped finish for Arsenal's first goal of the evening.

Mikel Arteta wanted to 'slap' Bukayo Saka

Arteta, 43, joked that he wanted to "slap" Saka after he failed to score the penalty.

“I didn’t want to die but maybe I wanted to slap him," said Arteta. "He made that decision, he was bold enough to do it and he missed. I was more concerned about the emotional part. What it could do for us.

“The personality he showed at his age, in the first time he played in this stadium, [is] incredible.”

“It is one of the best nights in my football career," he added. "A really special one. We played against the team with the biggest history [15 European Cups]. To be able to win the tie in the manner we have, we have to be really proud.”