Declan Rice feels Arsenal are on the brink of a gold rush ahead of PSG clash but the final step – winning a trophy – is often the hardest, writes OLIVER HOLT
Out on the edge of the city, where the suburbs start to give way to lush countryside and the Paris Saint-German coach Luis Enrique rides the 9km from his house to the training ground in Poissy on his bicycle, everything was serene on Tuesday when Achraf Hakimi began to talk about what lies ahead for Arsenal.
Hakimi transported us there, to Wednesday evening, as best he could. ‘The atmosphere will be insane, inside and outside the stadium,’ the PSG defender said. ‘These are the games that kids want to play in. The city will stop breathing for this game; I completely get that. The fans helped us overturn the game against Manchester City when we were down and they deserve this joy now.’
A few hours later, Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice walked into the Parc des Princes as it lay deserted and brooding on Tuesday evening, waiting for its moment. One after another, Arsenal coach and midfield general matched Hakimi for optimism. After a few minutes of listening, it felt like attending a seminar on the power of positive thinking.
Arsenal may be a goal down from the first leg of this Champions League semi-final, when they never quite recovered from a PSG masterclass in the opening 30 minutes, but you would not have known it to hear the pair speak.
Rice, who will be freed to play in his favoured No 8 role by the return of Thomas Partey after suspension, exuded wide-eyed, smiling enthusiasm for the task in front of him and his team even though he will up against Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, commonly regarded as the best midfield in Europe.
He talked about it as a chance to edge closer to immortality, a chance to make history by reaching Arsenal’s first Champions League final for 19 years, a chance to start a gold rush of trophies that will put Arsenal’s nearly-man reputation to the sword.
Declan Rice was in a positive mood ahead of Arsenal’s crucial semi-final second leg clash
Rice will be deployed in a more advanced No 8 role after putting in a defensive shift last week
Mikel Arteta’s side will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg at the Emirates
‘The next step for us is to win trophies,’ Rice said, after he had been invited to recall the two stunning free kicks he scored against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. ‘I sense that we’re close, but to get over the line, you have to win that first one. I feel like they’ll start coming in for sure. We have such a good group, but we need to keep believing and being positive.’
It was in another part of the city, at the Stade de France, where Arsenal lost their only appearance in the final to Barcelona in 2006 but Arteta, who played for PSG for 18 months, is determined to lay those ghosts, too.
‘Yes, it will give us another opportunity in this city,’ Arteta said, ‘and it brings you to places that are so related sometimes. It’s a beautiful story, so let’s make it our own tomorrow.
‘We come here with huge enthusiasm, huge energy. We are a win away from being in the Champions League final and we are in the most beautiful city in the world. Against a great opponent. It doesn’t get much better than that. We are here to make history. We have a big opportunity.
‘Winning trophies is about being in the right moment in the right place. Liverpool have won the title with fewer points than we have had in the last two seasons so you have to be in the right moment in the right place. Hopefully we are in the right moment in the right place in Paris tomorrow.’
Arteta also hinted that the pressure PSG will be under in front of their own fans. They have blown advantages better than the one they hold over Arsenal before, notably the four-goal lead they threw away over Barcelona in 2017 and the three goals in 17 decisive minutes they conceded to Real Madrid in 2022.
But there is pressure on Arteta, too. Their failed challenge for the Premier League title has curdled into rather a grim battle to hang on to second place, with some even suggesting the apocalyptic scenario that they could yet lose their place in the top five.
Some, even among Arsenal’s support, have sought to portray Wednesday evening’s second leg as a match that could doom Arteta’s reign at the Emirates if his team does not manage to respond to its own blizzard of optimism.
Rice has insisted that the next step is for Arsenal to win trophies – but they are not there yet
PSG will be under pressure from their own fans in Paris, Arteta insisted ahead of the tie
Arteta will be under pressure too, though – he risks ending the season without success with defeat in France
Those voices are suggesting, even before the game has taken place, that Arteta has hit a ceiling at the club and that the prospect of three successive second-placed finishes in the Premier League shows that Arsenal’s progress has stalled.
That analysis is flawed. It assumes, for a start, that Arsenal’s natural place in the English football firmament is as a regular winner of league titles and that Arteta is somehow selling the club short.
The reality, of course, is that Arsenal have not won the league for 21 years and have only won it six times in the last 72 years. They are not habitual champions. It does not mean they do not have a right to dream, as every club does, but Arteta is moving them closer to that dream.
It is frustrating that Arsenal cannot get over the line in the league but that does not change the fact that Arteta is consistently over-achieving with the resources at his disposal. Not that those resources are inconsiderable but they do not match what is available to Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Arteta is getting Arsenal closer all the time. Whatever happens at the Parc des Princes, reaching the semi-finals of the world’s leading club competition is another example of the club’s progress and its restoration to Europe’s elite.
It would be absurd for Arsenal to think about sacrificing that maturity and consistency by dispensing with Arteta when he has brought them so near to the big prizes. They can see the destination now. They just need to back the manager by strengthening the squad in the summer and holding their nerve.
There is still a feeling, despite support for Kai Havertz from within the club, that the club needs an upgrade in its front line, whether that is with a conventional centre forward or with another forward who plays more as a false 9.
This run to the last four of the Champions League, and possibly beyond, can only help with the recruitment process. If they can add PSG to Real Madrid in their list of victims, attracting the best players will be that much easier.
The last step, though, is often the hardest. Beyond all the talking, and the gleaming smiles, Arteta and Rice know that. ‘To be in the final of the Champions League,’ Arteta said, ‘you have to do something exceptional. Tomorrow night is the night we have to elevate ourselves.’
