Declan Rice blamed Wayne Rooney to win Arsenal before winning trophies and bluntly struck a bullish tone against Paris Saint-Germain before the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Rice was unable to help Arsenal to avoid a 1-0 loss to the Emirates last week. After the English midfielder played in a 5-1 triumph on the defense of Champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, he tried to repeat his all-action heroic heroism when the hosts were conveniently beaten.
Manchester United Icon Rooney questioned the mentality of Mikel Aretetas squad after the back of the first leg. “There is a psychological fear of not getting across the limits,” said the former England striker in his capacity as Amazon Prime Video Expert last week.
“I think there is a fear! A hurdle that you have to overcome. You have managed the city and Liverpool nearby, but you have to be successful on the trip and I don’t think you are taking these steps. Arsenal is used to getting into a certain level of the season and things are falling away. I say the truth.”
When these comments were made on rice in the French capital before the decisive draw on Wednesday, he did not agree and pointed out Arsenal’s 2-0 victory in October. “It was the same team except the same team as [Ousmane] Dembele and [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia. All others started and we beat her, “emphasized Rice.” So there is no fear.
“I think the gate within three minutes probably shocked us a bit, the atmosphere shocked a little. But when we were back in the game, we started to create opportunities. The goalkeeper made some amazing parades. We fully believed that we could do it that we couldn’t do it well.”
Bukayo Saka was even more confident than his teammate. “It’s anything but over,” said the English winger Sky Sport. “I think it is important to stay calm, but obviously we know that we have a different level in front of us and I think we will show it in Paris and I am confident that we can turn it around.”