A “stripped” Declan Rice thinks that Arsenal's failure to get the most out of a clear start costs them a lot, because they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League.
Goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi earned PSG a 2-1 win in Parc des Princes on Wednesday to complete a 3-1 total triumph.
Vitinha also missed a second half of a fine for the hosts, but Arsenal, who scored a comfort through Bukayo Saka, had his own chances of their own chances, in which Rice and Saka missed great opportunities and Gianluigi Donnarumma that made a large number of excellent saving.
Arsenal did indeed produce an XG of 3.14 in the game, the most by a team against PSG in a Champions League match this season, while their 19 shots were also their most in a knockout game since they had 20 left in Barcelona in March 2016.
Arsenal -midfielder Rice, after the game, said to TNT -Sport: “It's the lips, such a dominant start -If you score one of those opportunities in the first 20 minutes, the game changes completely upside down.
“They are little margins in football – two mistakes from us, two goals for them. With the opportunities we missed, it felt like it wasn't meant. We gave it everything.
“In this competition you are in or are you gone. We could have scored three or four goals on the two legs, Donnarumma has been incredible – you have to look at the little margins, it was clearly not meant.”
Arsenal went a better than their run to the quarterfinals in previous term, but for the third season the title of the Premier League missed, where Liverpool was crowned victors this time.
The Mikel Arteta team has not succeeded in not claiming each of their last four large cup semi-finals (2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 EFL Cup, EFL Cup 2024-25, 2024-25 Champions League), not claiming).
Rice, however, thinks that the Gunners will eventually cross the line to land silverware.
“In life you have to lose a few to win. You have to overcome these setbacks and grow mentally as a person, a player and as a group,” he added.
“We are currently going through that phase in terms of losing in the competition, near the Champions League in back-to-back year. We grow as a team and people, but we have to keep pushing.
“This is why we play this sport. There will be setbacks on the way. PSG has continued, we have been stripped, but this will not definitely define us.
“We come back, we get the players who have been out for a long time and we will be a much stronger outfit, that's for sure.
“We are all desperate [for a trophy]. That's why we play football, we want to win trophies. For whatever reason, it is not meant – it is not good enough, because Arsenal is a club that has to win trophies.
“There is not much more that we can do, but sometimes you have to go through small losses in life to win big.
“That is what the big superstars have done – they have all suffered defeats, but then come to the top. I am sure this group will do that. It hurts, it is difficult, we wanted to be in Munich. We are coming back.”