Is Carlo Ancelotti's time at Real Madrid up? Winners and losers after Arsenal expose Blancos' basic tactics and Declan Rice dominates on another Champions League night to forget for 'cursed' Kylian Mbappe

'Mikel Arteta is too emotional to win the league.' 'Arteta isn't a tactician.' 'Arteta hasn't actually done anything.' 'Arteta's time is running out.' Those criticisms have been launched at the Arsenal boss for the best part of 12 months now, and until he wins his first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup, they will always be fine ammunition. But beating Madrid home and away isn't a bad start to shutting a few people up.

This was a tough one for Arteta to gauge. Somehow, a 3-0 lead feels dangerous against Madrid. The Champions League voodoo can get to you, the gravitas of the Bernabeu bringing about the sort of spooky energy that briefly turned Joselu into Cristiano Ronaldo. Arteta could have succumbed to it, dug in, and played for a draw. And at times, he did. Arsenal were more than happy to let the home side have the ball, and, for long passages, had 10 men in their own half.

But at the right moments, his team was more expansive, relieved pressure where they could, and attacked with real intent. In truth, the Gunners looked dangerous every time they had the ball, deserved their two goals, and really should have came away with three. What a night for a manager who needed a big performance to silence the critics.

There's a delicious irony to this season's Champions League. Kylian Mbappe did not want to play for Paris Saint-Germain anymore because he really wanted to play for Real Madrid. Standard stuff. But, of course, the central goal in moving to the Spanish capital was to win the Champions League, given it was pretty much the one thing Mbappe could never do in Paris. He broke all of the individual records at Parc des Princes, won more league titles than you can count, scooped up a few domestic cups, and rallied the Parisian fanbase. But European glory was never achieved, and Madrid was supposed to change that.

So much for that. Let's be clear: this loss isn't necessarily on Mbappe. But winning this competition and showing up on these kinds of nights is why he penned a massive deal to move to Madrid. And instead, he spent most of the game locked down by William Saliba. There were flashes of quality - neat stepovers and half-chances - but he never really threatened. Meanwhile, Madrid were more dangerous after he went off with what looked like a pretty nasty ankle injury that may put his chances of playing in the Copa del Rey final and La Liga run-in at risk.

There will be other nights and further opportunities, yet this feels like an immensely disappointing start to what was supposed to be a glittering chapter in both Madrid and Mbappe's time together.

The new Patrick Viera? Rice was immense on Wednesday, earning himself a deserved second Player of the Match award of the tie. A couple of wonderful free-kicks from the England midfielder paced the 3-0 first-leg win, but this display might have been better. Rice showcased all-round dominance in the middle of the park, pretty much running a midfield that featured some of the highest calibre talents in world football.

If last week was about finesse, this one was about power. Rice ate up ground like a machine, flew into tackles, won his headers, and made a number of key defensive interventions. And no one for Madrid could quite catch him, either. Rice completed 25 of 26 passes, created two chances, and constantly broke the lines with some driving runs. On the other side of things, Jude Bellingham was rendered more or less anonymous by his international team-mate's physicality and fearlessness.

Yes, he had the table set by Thomas Partey's intuition behind him and Martin Odegaard's creativity in front, but Rice did all of the bits in between, turning in another fine showing to lead Arsenal to a famous win.

So, is this it? So much of Ancelotti's brilliance has been based on the fact that he can take a bunch of superstars who perhaps don't quite fit together as a unit and produce an excellent team. No striker? Jude Bellingham can become a world-class false nine. No right winger? Federico Valverde will play there. Don't really rate Ferland Mendy for a while? Eduardo Camavinga will do a job at left back. And the cycle tends to repeat. Players plug holes, and then the mentality he instils does the rest.

Wednesday suggested that this Madrid side is one ask too many for the legendary Italian. In fairness, their squad is a bit of a mess right now. They lack a tempo-setting central midfielder, and are without a world-class right back and centre-back.

But there was no real plan on Wednesday, either. Madrid crossed the ball 42 times against Arsenal, and completed just seven of them. Ancelotti didn't have answers for the Gunners' defensive structure, or their effectiveness on the break. If there was a setup or identity to Madrid, you'd have to look really hard and get admittedly creative to find it.

It's fair to wonder what happens next. Madrid can still catch Barcelona in La Liga, and play the Catalans in the Copa del Rey final on April 26. They could still end this season with a double, but their chances look slim if things don't improve. And with Xabi Alonso waiting in the wings to take over while Brazil attempt to tempt Ancelotti away , it feels like a matter of time until he moves on.

Defending has been Arsenal's calling card for most of Arteta's reign to date. In truth, it's how the Spaniard has taken the Gunners from the 'banter era' into a period of sustained success. And on Wednesday, their backline was excellent once again.

Saliba held it down in the middle, giving Mbappe almost nothing on the night, even if it was his error which led to Vinicius' equaliser. Jurrien Timber proved to be almost the only defender in Europe who has had an answer for Vinicius, while Myles Lewis-Skelly looks more and more legitimate with every appearance. Jakub Kiwior, the Polish centre-back who has been thrust into the limelight following Gabriel Magalhaes' season-ending injury, also provided some vital interventions at the back.

More broadly, though, Arsnal looked like a real unit. Corners were dealt with, set-pieces were nullified and Madrid rarely had space to run into. Arsenal's attack can be blunt at times, but their defence always seems to show up on big nights; this was yet another example of an excellent unit getting it right.

Serious question: if you actively perpetuate your own juju, is it still juju? Going on social media in the run up to this fixture felt like an assault to the footballing senses. The Spanish media and Real Madrid themselves consolidated into one evil entity of propaganda. There were countless references to glorious comebacks of old, promises that "90 minutes at the Bernabeu are very long." Jude Bellingham admitted that the word 'remontada' had been tossed around the Madrid dressing room.

This all built up expectation that Madrid were going to come back, that the European magic was inevitable. They would score one early, grab another two, and find a way to win thanks to a fourth-string striker you've never heard of. Joselu, hero of last year's semi-final against Bayern Munich, would return, toss a kit on, and score a couple. Madrid would find a way. They always do.

Instead, they were remarkably quiet. The promised remontada was nowhere to be found. And there wasn't really any energy to their performance at all. Madrid were never really in the game - never mind positioned to pull off the impossible.

All streaks have to end at some point; this was just a baffling way for it to fall apart.