Arsenal midfielder, Declan Rice has issued a rallying cry as his team gets ready for their UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
Recall that the Gunners currently trail PSG by one goal after last week’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Speaking during an interview with the press, Rice revealed that Arsenal players must have big balls in Paris to overturn the first-leg result and qualify for the UCL final in Munich.
According to him, he and his teammates are very much ready to play on the biggest stage to prove that they can shine under the brightest lights, so they will do everything possible to deliver magical moments to turn the tie around.
Rice said that Mikel Arteta has always talked about his players stepping up to deliver special moments to change the course of any game, and his manager will definitely be expecting some of those moments from his boys in France.
The English midfielder maintained that the semi-final is set up for someone to rise up to the occasion when his team needs him the most, and he hopes the person will be wearing an Arsenal jersey tonight.
“We need to have big balls and we need to go out there on the biggest stage and show that we’re ready to play at this level. The manager calls them magic moments. He always talks about having someone delivering a magic moment. Tomorrow night, hopefully we can deliver something special,” he said.
Declan Rice was the hero in the quarter-final against Real Madrid when he netted two stunning first-leg free-kicks to set up his team’s 5-1 aggregate victory.
He will most definitely start in the second leg tonight, before the Gunners head to the dreaded Anfield to take on Liverpool in the EPL on Sunday, where they are expected to give the champions a guard of honour.
Win or lose in Europe, the struggle continues for the Gunners in England. Arsenal still have a lot of work to do to seal their qualification for UCL football next season via the EPL. Mikel Arteta’s boys currently sit 6 points clear of sixth position with just three English Premier League matches left to play.
Folami David is a dynamic journalist who views the world through an analytical lens, translating complex narratives across multiple industries into compelling stories. With an insatiable appetite for information and a keen eye for emerging trends, Folami specializes in uncovering the interconnections between technology, business, culture, and society.
