NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Declan Rice has opened up about his development into a “big game player” as Arsenal prepare for a historic Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Having already won the Premier League title, the England midfielder is now focused on completing a legendary double in Budapest.
Rising to the biggest occasions
Rice is no stranger to European success, having previously captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory.
However, as he prepares to lead Arsenal’s midfield into the Champions League final, the stakes have never been higher. The 27-year-old believes he has developed the temperament to thrive in front of the world, calling himself a specialist on world football’s biggest stages.
“I would like to say that I am a big-game player,” Rice said in an interview with uefa.com in the build-up to the final.
“When you play in the biggest competitions, you need your players to step up at every point, and not just me. I think our team has done that over the last few years in big matches – we stepped up, especially in the Champions League. Some of us have that in us, and we will need it for the final as well.”
Learning from past final heartbreak
While Rice enjoyed the pinnacle of lifting a trophy in Prague with the Hammers, his career was also marked by several painful final defeats, including two European Championship setbacks against England.
Rather than letting these failures weigh him down, the midfielder uses them as fuel to ensure he doesn’t feel this “hurt” again.
Rice insists that each defeat goes a long way in helping him face the challenge posed by Luis Enrique’s PSG team.
“I’ve lost quite a few finals now: two EURO finals, the League Cup final. It hurts because when we get to the final, we want to win that trophy. But also, all the little defeats that we suffer are very useful to us. It makes us even hungrier to want to go and win things, and I hope that’s what we can continue to do,” noted the midfielder.
Chasing historic double in Budapest
With a medal already obtained in the Premier League, the attention is entirely on the “beautiful trophy” which has eluded Arsenal throughout its history.
After falling to PSG in the semi-finals last season, Rice is adamant that the Gunners have learned the hard lessons needed to go further this time around. He believes the team is ready to “empty the tank” to ensure they finish the season at the highest level.
“PSG are a very good team. We played them in two matches last year. It could have gone either way. What did we learn from last season’s semi-final defeat? You have to take your chances because we had a lot of them,” Rice warned.
What an opportunity
Rice was instrumental in Arsenal’s Premier League title campaign, ending a 22-year drought for the Gunners. He has scored four goals and provided seven assists in 36 appearances in the competition.
The 27-year-old understands that reaching the Champions League final is an unmissable opportunity to finally secure the title that has eluded his team.
Rice said: “It’s the biggest competition in football. The Champions League final, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. What a chance, what an opportunity. It will be the last kick of club football for the season, so to go out on top and give it your all.
FIFA World Cup 2026: how to watch
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament games will be broadcast live on FOX (70) and FS1 (34), with each game streamed live and on-demand in the FOX One and FOX Sports apps. A record 40 games, more than a third of the tournament, will be broadcast in prime time on FOX (21) and FS1 (19).
The June 11 opening match between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will be streamed for free on Tubi, along with the United States’ opening match against Paraguay on June 12 (9 p.m. ET).
