Declan Rice has insisted Arsenal must be better at Manchester City on Sunday if they are to press their Premier League title claims.
The midfielder is conscious of his clubâs curious situation: six points clear of City at the top of the table, albeit having played an extra game, and the only English team in the Champions League semi-finals. But the mood is edgy and Rice is aware that the fans have concerns over the style of play.
The last few weeks, the 27-year-old says, have been a ârollercoasterâ, beginning with the Carabao Cup final defeat against City. Arsenal went out of the FA Cup at Southampton and suffered a sobering home loss to Bournemouth in the league. Before that, they won 1-0 at Sporting in the Champions League quarter-final first leg and completed the job with the 0-0 draw at the Emirates on Wednesday, setting up a semi-final meeting with AtlĂ©tico Madrid.
Rice talked up the positives from the second leg with Sporting, which came purely from a defensive point of view. But he was typically honest about the teamâs shortcomings on the ball, which have been evident throughout the five-match run.
âYes, for sure,â Rice said, when asked whether Arsenal had to perform better. âWe know that as a group. Thereâs no beating around the bush. We have to perform better than we did against Bournemouth. You can say against Sporting on Wednesday, as well. In the defensive aspect, we were much better. Recently we probably made too many errors that we havenât done in previous weeks. But we cut that out [against Sporting], which was good.
âItâs about doing the basics a little bit better, to a better level ⊠just the five-, 10-yard passes that weâre giving away a bit sloppily. And just that confidence with the ball, just taking more touches, relaxing on the ball, not feeling under pressure. The Etihad is the ultimate test but itâs why we play this game. So, bring it on.â
Rice can normally be relied on for fighting talk and he admitted that revenge for the Carabao Cup final would also be in the mix on Sunday. The Arsenal players stayed on the pitch at Wembley to watch City lift the trophy and the pain has lingered.
âOn the day they were the better team,â Rice conceded. âIt would have been wrong for us to walk inside and not show that respect. But to see them lift that, it did hurt. There is that fire in the stomach to eradicate that on the weekend. We have six games to go in the Premier League and we know how big it is.
âItâs beautiful. When youâre a kid and youâre watching the Premier League, you see these big matches, these title-defining moments. And it comes down to if youâre going to be ready and how much do you want it? To go there and win would be a massive statement. And look, these boys are ready. We spoke as a group. We know whatâs required.â
Arsenal have scored only three times in the past five games and Rice made the point that it was difficult against the low blocks they routinely encounter. Sporting, for example, defended in compact 5-3-2 on Wednesday. That, however, is not Cityâs style and Arsenal barely laid a glove on them in the Carabao Cup final.
âI feel like weâre probably getting more eyes on us, more scrutiny, because weâve not been scoring the goals,â Rice said. âItâs tough when you play against back fives and weâve done it more than ever this season â 5-4-1s, 5-3-2s. Teams really do set up differently against us.
âItâs down to us to break that down but when they are camped on the edge of their box, sometimes it is tough because youâre playing against top-level international players. So thereâs a different perspective to it. I know fans want to see more but probably on Wednesday ⊠just to get through is a real positive.â
Rice was touch-and-go to play after being laid low by illness on Monday and Tuesday. He admitted that if the game had been 24 hours earlier, he would not have featured. It has been a gruelling period for Rice, who was forced to miss the March internationals, with the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, explaining he had felt âa discomfort since quite a whileâ and was at â70%â fitness.
Rice sat out the Southampton tie after the international window but he knows it is a time for availability and he is determined to dig deep, particularly as Arsenal have been without some of their other key players because of injury, including JurriĂ«n Timber, Martin Ădegaard and Bukayo Saka.
âWe want those players back,â Rice said. âWe need them back. They are three of our biggest and best players. Weâve missed them a lot this year in big games. I was ill for two days; in bed and not well. But I perked up on Wednesday morning. I wasnât at 100% but I wanted to help the team out. Thatâs what itâs about â to play for this club under any condition.â
The midfielder is conscious of his clubâs curious situation: six points clear of City at the top of the table, albeit having played an extra game, and the only English team in the Champions League semi-finals. But the mood is edgy and Rice is aware that the fans have concerns over the style of play.
The last few weeks, the 27-year-old says, have been a ârollercoasterâ, beginning with the Carabao Cup final defeat against City. Arsenal went out of the FA Cup at Southampton and suffered a sobering home loss to Bournemouth in the league. Before that, they won 1-0 at Sporting in the Champions League quarter-final first leg and completed the job with the 0-0 draw at the Emirates on Wednesday, setting up a semi-final meeting with AtlĂ©tico Madrid.
Rice talked up the positives from the second leg with Sporting, which came purely from a defensive point of view. But he was typically honest about the teamâs shortcomings on the ball, which have been evident throughout the five-match run.
âYes, for sure,â Rice said, when asked whether Arsenal had to perform better. âWe know that as a group. Thereâs no beating around the bush. We have to perform better than we did against Bournemouth. You can say against Sporting on Wednesday, as well. In the defensive aspect, we were much better. Recently we probably made too many errors that we havenât done in previous weeks. But we cut that out [against Sporting], which was good.
âItâs about doing the basics a little bit better, to a better level ⊠just the five-, 10-yard passes that weâre giving away a bit sloppily. And just that confidence with the ball, just taking more touches, relaxing on the ball, not feeling under pressure. The Etihad is the ultimate test but itâs why we play this game. So, bring it on.â
Rice can normally be relied on for fighting talk and he admitted that revenge for the Carabao Cup final would also be in the mix on Sunday. The Arsenal players stayed on the pitch at Wembley to watch City lift the trophy and the pain has lingered.
âOn the day they were the better team,â Rice conceded. âIt would have been wrong for us to walk inside and not show that respect. But to see them lift that, it did hurt. There is that fire in the stomach to eradicate that on the weekend. We have six games to go in the Premier League and we know how big it is.
âItâs beautiful. When youâre a kid and youâre watching the Premier League, you see these big matches, these title-defining moments. And it comes down to if youâre going to be ready and how much do you want it? To go there and win would be a massive statement. And look, these boys are ready. We spoke as a group. We know whatâs required.â
Arsenal have scored only three times in the past five games and Rice made the point that it was difficult against the low blocks they routinely encounter. Sporting, for example, defended in compact 5-3-2 on Wednesday. That, however, is not Cityâs style and Arsenal barely laid a glove on them in the Carabao Cup final.
âI feel like weâre probably getting more eyes on us, more scrutiny, because weâve not been scoring the goals,â Rice said. âItâs tough when you play against back fives and weâve done it more than ever this season â 5-4-1s, 5-3-2s. Teams really do set up differently against us.
âItâs down to us to break that down but when they are camped on the edge of their box, sometimes it is tough because youâre playing against top-level international players. So thereâs a different perspective to it. I know fans want to see more but probably on Wednesday ⊠just to get through is a real positive.â
Rice was touch-and-go to play after being laid low by illness on Monday and Tuesday. He admitted that if the game had been 24 hours earlier, he would not have featured. It has been a gruelling period for Rice, who was forced to miss the March internationals, with the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, explaining he had felt âa discomfort since quite a whileâ and was at â70%â fitness.
Rice sat out the Southampton tie after the international window but he knows it is a time for availability and he is determined to dig deep, particularly as Arsenal have been without some of their other key players because of injury, including JurriĂ«n Timber, Martin Ădegaard and Bukayo Saka.
âWe want those players back,â Rice said. âWe need them back. They are three of our biggest and best players. Weâve missed them a lot this year in big games. I was ill for two days; in bed and not well. But I perked up on Wednesday morning. I wasnât at 100% but I wanted to help the team out. Thatâs what itâs about â to play for this club under any condition.â
