Richard Keys calls for Arsenal man to be SACKED after spotting what happened at end of Real Madrid win

Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys slammed an Arsenal man after their 3-0 victory against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday evening.

Declan Rice starred with two sumptuous free-kicks before Mikel Merino added a third for Mikel Arteta’s side - handing the Gunners the advantage heading into next Wednesday’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham praised Arsenal’s performance with Arteta, 43, keeping a lid on his emotions after full-time.

"We need to go there and we're going to have to step up again and prepare the game to win it," Arteta said.

"It's another step in the right direction as a team. We have the capacity to do it and we have to go to Bernabeu and replicate what we have done tonight."

But not everyone was so positive about the Premier League outfit despite their impressive showing – namely Keys who called for an Arsenal man to be sacked.

The former Sky Sports and current beIN Sports presenter is not one to hold back if he feels something needs to be said, and this was the case on Wednesday.

“Brilliant night for The Gunners,” Keys wrote on X. “I’m glad they didn’t over do it at the end - you never know with Madrid. One other thing - if I employed a set-piece coach & we hadn’t scored direct from a FK since Sept 21 I’d be sacking him - not celebrating with him!”

Bend it like Rice 🔥#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/yuhrSzp7AB

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 8, 2025

This came after Arteta, 43, revealed that Rice’s first strike was the first free-kick the Gunners had scored since September 2021 – and the midfielder’s first goal from a free-kick in 338 games.

Nicolas Jover is Arsenal’s set piece coach and is often pictured stepping towards the touchline when the Gunners are setting up ahead of dead ball situations.

And despite Keys’ point, there has been a huge upturn in the number goals Arsenal have scored from set pieces this season.

After the match, Rice, 26, even quipped that Jover was still "claiming" the goals.

"He's claiming for it but he's told me to cross it," said Rice having explained how Bukayo Saka encouraged him to shoot instead of crossing ahead of his first strike.

"He can claim it if he wants, it doesn't matter," Arteta explained. "It's incredible."