Declan Rice believes Arsenal’s path to their first Champions League final in nearly two decades will demand more than tactics or talent it will require something intangible, something special: “magic moments.”
Arsenal travel to Paris on Wednesday night needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit against a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side. Ousmane Dembélé’s early strike in the first leg at the Emirates has tilted the tie, but the Gunners aren’t short on belief or firepower.
It’s been 19 years since Arsenal graced a Champions League final. Only twice in competition history has a team come back from a first-leg home defeat in the semis to reach the showpiece. But Rice, who delivered two stunning free kicks to dispatch Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, knows belief is a currency Arsenal can spend.
“The manager calls them magic moments,” Rice said. “Hopefully it’s me again, but you’re going to need a moment of magic to win a game.” His confidence is contagious. He speaks of a team unafraid, of a group that has grown together under Mikel Arteta’s meticulous guidance.
Arteta, who masterminded that defiant 2-1 win at the Bernabéu last month, sees parallels. “It was Madrid against all the odds… and we proved something very different,” he said. “Tomorrow we want to do the same.” The Spaniard knows his side are just one performance away from rewriting history.
There are critics, of course. Wayne Rooney questioned Arsenal’s mental steel, labelling them “psychologically fearful” of winning major trophies. But Rice was quick to dismiss that narrative, reminding everyone of October’s 2-0 group-stage win over PSG and insisting: “There’s no fear.”
PSG, though, are no pushovers. With Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia causing havoc between the lines, Arsenal will need to be clinical. Yet Rice sees opportunity where others see threat. “Once we found a foothold chances started to open up,” he said.
Under the Parisian lights, against one of Europe’s elite, Arsenal will need courage, composure and perhaps one more flash of magic.
