Arsenal injury news: What Mikel Arteta said about Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice after Real Madrid win

Arsenal took one big step towards the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night with a 3-0 home win over Real Madrid in their quarter-final first leg. Declan Rice stunned the reigning champions with a brace, and Mikel Merino also produced a fine finish.

Nothing is ever certain when heading to the Santiago Bernabeu for a Champions League second leg, but Arsenal have put themselves in a superb position as they look to take another step towards winning their first ever Champions League title.

The downside to the win was that Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka had to be substituted. here we run you through the latest.

What happened with Rice and Saka?

Saka sparked fears of injury when he was substituted in the 74th minute and replaced by Leandro Trossard. The winger has been out with a hamstring injury for the last couple of months, only returning last week, but he did not appear to be clutching his hamstring upon his departure from the game.

Just six minutes later, Rice was replaced by Kieran Tierney, and he appears to have a foot issue as he meandered towards the bench.

Arteta explains the reasons for Rice and Saka substitutions

After the game, Arsenal boss Arteta was asked about why Rice and Saka were replaced, and it seems as though both players had knocks.

The Gunners boss said: “I think Dec had an issue with his foot, I don't know if it was a tackle or what it was, and Bukayo was after he got tackled on the foul, I think he had a knock and he had to go.”

Arteta on the win

Speaking about the win, Arteta added: “It's been a season that we have to adapt. We went through a lot of things, we lost probably our best defender as well for four months, and Jakub comes in and he delivers the performances that he's delivering.

“It's not a coincidence the way they train, the way they apply themselves, and the way they help each other I think produces those moments, and with Mikel it's again his commitment, his desire to learn the position, to constantly be thinking of what he can offer to the team, and the team adapting to his qualities to try to deliver the best outcome.

Rice delighted with the win

Rice was in good spirits after the game, indicating that his injury was not serious. Speaking to the club website, he said: “I’m speechless, this has never happened to me before!” a beaming Declan said after the game. “This is the quarter-final and we know how much this night meant. It's a real historic night for the club. I'm so happy.

“They [his free-kicks] were really good. To be honest with you, I'm not used to all of this praise and media and just people saying how good the free-kicks were! I've seen them back a few times now but I think I'll be up watching it all night. It's an incredible moment, I can't believe it.

"As soon as I hit the first one and it went in, I thought 'that's my first ever free kick!' And then I just had the confidence over the second one. I just thought, 'why not? What have I got to lose?' I was going to go over the wall and I thought: 'I've got the keeper's side, on a good one.' I've been practising that a lot. So, yeah, two went in and they're just magic moments. They're going to stay with me forever."

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