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THIERRY HENRY had a blunt message for Kylian Mbappe before Arsenal stunned Real Madrid.
The Gunners enjoyed their greatest night at the Emirates on Tuesday.
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Declan Rice’s two wondergoals from direct free-kicks and Mikel Merino’s superb finish gave Mikel Arteta’s men a 3-0 lead at the mid-way point of the Champions League quarter-final.
But as well as scoring three goals, it was crucial that Arsenal kept a clean sheet.
And that meant stopping Mbappe – just as Henry wanted.
Arsenal legend Henry bumped into his French compatriot on the side of the Emirates pitch during the warm-ups last night.
They shared a warm embrace and had a brief chat before Henry let Mbappe go to continue loosening up.
But he revealed his short and sharp cheeky final comment to the Real Madrid striker.
Working as a CBS Sports pundit, Henry said: “It’s always massive respect when I see Kylian Mbappe.
“We both went to Clairefontaine [French football centre of excellence].
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“Tonight he’s playing against the team that I love the most in the world.
“Look I don’t wish anything bad on him.
“But tonight, I said to him, ‘Please I don’t want to see you.'”
And Henry largely got his wish.
Most importantly, Mbappe was kept off the scoresheet – and was kept relatively quiet by his lofty standards.
He played the full 90 minutes in North London but the vast majority of his touches came outside the Arsenal penalty area.
The 2018 World Cup winner – still looking to win his first Champions League – managed three shots with two on target, but was denied by David Raya.
Arguably his most significant moment of the match came after Rice’s second strike.
The cameras showed Mbappe’s reaction – and he was blown away by the quality.
The striker – who only scored his first career free-kick on March 29 – raised his eyebrows and flicked his head in appreciation of Rice’s spectacular strike.
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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…
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