Arsenal need ‘big balls and magic moments’ – Rice

Declan Rice says Arsenal need “big balls” and “magic moments” if they are to overturn their semi-final deficit against Paris St-Germain and reach the Champions League final.

Mikel Arteta’s side face the French champions in Paris on Wednesday (20:00 BST) after losing the first leg 1-0 courtesy of Ousmane Dembele’s early strike at Emirates Stadium last week.

Arsenal are attempting to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.

“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,” said Rice.

He added: “It’s a semi-final, it’s 90 minutes away from a final – I think that tells you everything you need to know.

“I think the manager spoke to us – us as a group of players know what we can achieve tomorrow night and it’s a game of football.

“We can go out there and we can achieve something great for this club and that’s what we want to do. We obviously know we’re 1-0 down but we have full belief, full positivity that we’re going to go out there and win tomorrow night.”

Arsenal struggled to contain PSG in the early stages of the first leg but Rice said, after Arteta made changes, he and his team-mates are full of confidence that they can get a result.

“You felt in the first leg there was a lot of movement in midfield. They [PSG] run around so much and create a lot of space for each other,” he said.

“The way they move between the lines was really, really smart. But once we worked out how we could beat them – obviously we missed a few chances, but in terms of how we were driving with the ball, giving our winners one-on-one opportunities, chances started to open up.

“I think tomorrow night we need to do the same.”

Rice has played a big part in Arsenal reaching this stage of the competition.

The England international scored two free-kicks in the 3-0 quarter-final first-leg victory over Real Madrid and received the player of the match award in both ties.

He said manager Arteta speaks regularly to his players about producing in high-pressure situations.

“He always talks about having someone delivering a magic moment,” Rice said.

“I think in that game against Madrid, obviously I was able to produce two free-kicks, which were incredible.

“But tomorrow night, a semi-final is set up for someone else to maybe get that magic moment.

“Hopefully it’s me again, but you’re going to need a moment of magic to win a game, and as a team we’re going to need that.

The Champions League is Arsenal’s last chance to win a trophy this season now that Liverpool have secured the Premier League title.

Arsenal lost to Bournemouth in the Premier League at the weekend but Arteta says his team have “huge enthusiasm and huge energy” that they can progress to the European final.

“We are a win away from being in the Champions League final and in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, against a great opponent – it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.

“We are here to make history – we have a big opportunity tomorrow.

“We bring a result [from the first leg] that gives us so much clarity about what we have to do. A lot of learning from the first leg as well and how small the margins are between the two teams.

“The result, in my opinion, should have been very different to that one. So tomorrow, another opportunity to prove that and the right to be in the final.”

When asked if this game was his biggest since he became Arsenal manager in 2019, Arteta said it is “one of the most beautiful, for sure”.

“I mean, again, one win away from being in the final,” he added.