Bend it like Decs! Arsenal hero Declan Rice calls David his icon, came through cruel trolling of his girlfriend – and now his free-kicks are Beckham-esque too!

Declan Rice is the talk of world football following his incredible free kicks that put Arsenal firmly in control of their Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid.

The English midfielder, who was purchased for £100million by Mikel Arteta in 2022, repaid that seismic transfer fee with a performance that will go down in Arsenal folklore for years to come.

The magic conjured up by Rice in north London left Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe transfixed, with the Frenchman rooted to his spot and shaking his head in disbelief.

There was a time, back in primary school, when kids would shout ‘bend it like Beckham!’ and subsequently hit the most underwhelming free-kick you had ever seen.

Now Rice will be the next footballing star to have playgrounds across the country in thrall as boys and girls try to imitate what he did against Real Madrid.

And perhaps it’s no surprise he has been compared to Beckham. Not only is he the newly christened free-kick king, but he’s got the same fashionista streak, calls the former Manchester United star an ‘icon’, and has battled against cruel trolling of his relationship off the field.

Rice did not stun Madrid out of luck. Rice beat Thibaut Courtois – to some pundits Europe’s best goalkeeper – after hours of dedication on the training ground, hammering free kicks high, wide, and into the sweet spots he found at the Emirates on Wednesday night.

First came the one he bent around the wall, which was actually heading wider than the stanchion behind the goal before it twisted, preternaturally, into the corner before Courtois could get across.

The second was even better. Some clever work from Arsenal’s hive in front of the wall opened up a gap, and Rice duly found the top corner as easily as he found Real Madrid’s midfield in his back pocket when he got home.

Beckham would have been proud. Indeed, his son Romeo was, posting on Instagram: ‘Omg Declan Rice my brotheeerrrrr.’ They are not, in fact, brothers. No blood relates them but Rice struck his shots with such grace and authority that Romeo, offspring of one of the dead-ball greats, had no choice but to feel kinship.

And for Rice, there is meaning behind this. In 338 club games, and 67 for England, he had never scored a free-kick goal. Now he has two of the most memorable in the style of his role model.

He revealed in 2022 that Beckham had been one of his heroes growing up. ‘This [Beckham, 23] was my favourite shirt as a kid, I remember going on holiday with my brothers and my family and non-stop wearing this shirt,’ he said, reflecting on Madrid’s first Galacticos era.

‘It’s iconic, with Becks on the back. Probably my favorite kit of all time. So many good players, obviously Becks was the icon, to have this shirt and to have his name on the back was a dream as a kid.

‘Some of the assists he got for those players was top. So, yeah, I’d put Becks up there but R9 (Ronaldo Nazario) was my favourite.’