‘No fear’: Rice rejects Rooney grievance and units attractions on Arsenal comeback

Declan Rice has rejected Wayne Rooney’s declare that Arsenal have a “psychological fear” of profitable trophies and insisted they’re able to overturning a one-goal deficit towards Paris Saint-Germain to succeed in the Champions League ultimate.

Mikel Arteta’s aspect have been criticised by means of the previous England ahead after dropping the primary leg 1-0 on the Emirates Stadium closing week after an early target from Ousmane Dembélé, with Rooney declaring in his position as a pundit for Amazon that Arsenal are “used to getting to a certain stage of the season and things fall away”. But having already crushed PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid away within the knockout levels this season, Rice used to be adamant that they’ve the realization to get previous PSG after their at ease 2-0 victory towards Luis Enrique’s aspect within the team level again in October.

“It was the same team other than Dembélé and [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia. Everyone else started and we beat them. So there’s no fear,” stated the England midfielder. “I think the goal inside three minutes probably shocked us a little bit, shocked the atmosphere a little bit. But once we found a foothold in the game again, we started creating chances. The goalkeeper made some amazing saves. We fully believed that we could beat them. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be, but we’ve seen enough and we know enough as a team that we can do something really, really good.”

Rice is Arsenal’s joint-second best scorer within the Champions League with 4 targets after his two sensible free-kicks within the victory towards Real Madrid within the quarter-finals. The go back of Thomas Partey from suspension approach Rice will revert to a extra complicated midfield place for the second one leg, with Jurriën Timber and Riccardo Calafiori additionally anticipated to be to be had for variety. Luis Enrique showed that Dembélé will play having been substituted on the Emirates Stadium with a hamstring downside.

Asked whether or not he sensed Arsenal are on the point of reaching one thing particular, Rice stated: “I think you need to have full belief. We certainly have that as a group. The manager certainly drills that into us every single day. If we’re the best versions of ourselves tomorrow night, and we know we can be that, there’s no stopping us getting into that final. We really need to be positive. You can’t come into a semi-final away at Paris and not have that belief and courage that you’re going to come here and win the game. So we’re ready and we’re looking forward to it.”

Arteta, who has received simply the only FA Cup since taking up from Unai Emery in 2019, additionally believes Arsenal’s second has come. “Winning trophies is about being in the right moment, in the right place,” he stated.

“Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons. With the points of the last two seasons we would have two Premier League [titles], so you have to be in the right moment and in the right place. Hopefully we are in the right moment, in the right place – in Paris tomorrow – to earn the right to be in that final.”