Thibaut Courtois has issued message to Real Madrid supporters after their humbling Champions League elimination at the hands of Arsenal.
Across the 180 minutes of their quarter-final tie, Carlo Ancelotti's side struggled to stamp their authority with the Gunners winning both the home and away leg. A 3-0 victory at Emirates Stadium was followed up by a 2-1 win in the Bernabeu with Declan Rice sensational in both.
In the first meeting, the Arsenal star scored two stunning free-kicks
It could have been very different for Rice though as he was adjudged to have fouled Kylian Mbappe in the penalty area just 10 minutes after Bukayo Saka saw a spot-kick of his own brilliantly saved by Courtois.
Saka later made up for his error by dinking over the Madrid 'keeper after a smart run in behind. Vinicius Junior equalised on the night moments later but that remained Los Blancos' only goal in the tie.
Deep into added time, Martinelli grabbed Arsenal's second when he finished past Courtois expertly. The Belgian shot-stopper was forced to make a number of saves in the game but could really do nothing about either goal with the finishes from Saka and Martinelli perfect.
Despite conceding five times,. "At half-time we felt that if we had scored the first goal the tie would have been open," he told Spanish reporters:
"In the end they found the first goal, we tied it quickly, you keep believing but we weren't successful up front, I don't think (David) Raya had to make a single great save. We lost against a superior and we have to accept it.
"They're a team that defends well, is well organised, presses well, and it's difficult to find space. We put in a lot of crosses, but this year we don't have Joselu, a natural striker up front."
Following on from his comments to the press, the 32-year-old penned a clear message to supporters. Via stories, he wrote: "Gracias Aficion [white heart emoji]." Those two words simply translate to English as, "thanks fans."

Despite being eliminated from the Champions League, Madrid are in the Copa del Rey final while also still being in the La Liga title race.
To maintain momentum however, Arteta will want to see his team beat Ipswich, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth around their two games against the French champions.
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