Lightning does not strike twice in the same place, but Declan Rice did.
Two out-of-this-world free-kicks, just metres and minutes apart, he teed up a potential coming of age for Mikel Artetas Arsenal.
A sensational third goal means the Gunners carry a 3-0 lead into next weeks second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Just hold their nerve in the Bernabeu, and a famous victory will be followed by a place in the semi-finals.
Who knows? They could even win it.
But the niggling and slightly terrifying question for the Gunners is: will it be enough?
According to the Opta computer, the answer is an overwhelming yes.
It says Arsenal have a 96% chance of reaching the semi-final; Real Madrid just 4%.
But even the most optimistic Gooner must feel that the computer is getting a bit carried away.
It has processed the stats of a zillion such games and calculated the possibilities, but we humans know things Opta doesnt.
We know of Reals uncanny knack/sixth sense/inner belief/ability to find a way.
And we know of Arsenals equivalent too 21 long years of just missing out: a diligently practiced and polished habit of being nearly men when it comes to major trophies.
The two clubs have been on reverse orbits in recent history as Real threaten to reprise their dominance of the 1950s.
By buying the best players and the best young players many of them on freebies, theyre a formidable act to challenge.
Every kid wants to play for them look at Trent Alexander-Arnold. As much as he loves Liverpool, he couldnt resist when Real came calling.
And by refurbishing the Bernabeu stadium and putting a roof on it, theyve turned it into an impregnable fortress on big occasions.
It was never for the faint-hearted, but by keeping the sound in and whipping up the crowd, its now even more intimidating.
They also feel they have a divine right to win Old Big Ears, their 15 wins being more than double the tally of the next club, AC Milan, with seven.
But, more even than all that, they have their Galacticos.
Although they were kept quiet in midweek, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are sure to find their voices in what Bellingham calls our house.
With the increasing workload players are now bearing, the top guys are learning to coast when they can, or, as the phrase goes, phoning it in.
At the Emirates, the star front men were relying on Thibaut Courtois having one of those nights to keep them level.
Then came Rices double dynamite. And before they could blink, a third from Mikel Merino.
Real were shocked, Arsenal had the momentum that galvanised the crowd. It was too late for Real to put the phone down and snatch a goal back.
Make no mistake, the Gunners destroyed Real in that second half and their joyous fans delivered the supreme insult when singing: Are you Tottenham in disguise?
A special word for Rice. A 105 million buy from West Ham, there was a sense he hadnt quite delivered. Very good but not 105m good.
Comparisons were made with Bellingham, who has flourished in the spotlight, whereas Rice remained, dare it be said, slightly under-cooked.
Then we discover that he hadnt scored with a free-kick in over 400 career games; that he had taken only 12 and Arsenal had scored with one in 64 games.
And this is a club famous for set-pieces, with a set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, who wanted Rice to cross instead of shooting!
Somehow, with the success of crowding the box at corners and (basically fouling the keeper), free-kicks have been neglected.
Yet Rice delivers many of the corners with pinpoint accuracy.
You would think someone might have twigged that he could be handy with a free-kick as well, but its taken until now.
Quibblers have suggested the wall was about as solid as Trumps attempt to keep out the Mexicans, but thats to ignore a sensational technique.
It seemed apt that Roberto Carlos was there to witness the swerve on the first, while cricket fans compared it to Shane Warnes ball of the century.
And Carlos spent the next 12 years trying to replicate that goal against France; Rice took 12 minutes.
Whatever your take, it was a special moment even Spurs fans I know have admitted to watching it more than once!
So Rice may now have a new role which could see him come out of his shell more and fully justify the money paid for him.
He just needs to resume his day job with the same concentration next week.
Arteta will have been heartened by Arsenals overall performance before the goals; without Courtois, they could have had half a dozen.
If they can find the resilience to match that flare, they will progress.
In the London clubs favour, Real are far from their best. Four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, they have laboured through the Champions League and had a scare in the Copa del Rey.
They lost last weekend, and havent kept a clean sheet in nine games.
But they will come flying out of the traps next week, and an early goal could make it a very long night for the visitors. They wont be Tottenham in disguise.
But if Arsenal hang on, this tie could be seen as pivotal in the clubs modern history. Theyll never have a better chance to end their major drought.
Even if they dont go on to become champions, theyve already given the Emirates Stadium the best night since it was built.
And Rices double-whammy will be etched in the clubs memory bank forever.
Such a performance deserves a sequel.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.