Declan Rice played a starring role in Arsenal's 3-2 win over Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge and what the English midfielder said during his half-time clash with Arsenal coach, Albert Stuivenberg, has now been revealed by an expert lip-reader.
Mikel Arteta's men gave themselves a narrow advantage heading into the second tie of their two-legged clash against the Blues as Ben White drew first blood in seven minutes. Striker Viktor Gyokeres doubled their lead after the break before Alejandro Garnacho pulled one back.
Unlikely goalscorer Martin Zubimendi plundered Arsenal's third in the 71st minute before Garnacho bagged his second of the affair. Spirits were high following the full-time whistle, and they made sure the result wasn't marred by the half-time scenes, which included Rice shouting at Stuivenberg.
Expert Lip Reader Reveals What Rice Said to Arsenal Coach in Heated Clash at Half-Time
Declan Rice
Despite leading 1-0 at the half-time break, Rice appeared far from content with his side's performance in the tunnel. The London-born ace, widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football, clashed with Stuivenberg – known as 'AirPod Albert' – and footage has now emerged.
As seen below, there were plenty of strong words exchanged between the 27-year-old before Gabriel Magalhaes was forced to step in and defuse the situation. The defender placed himself in the middle of the altercation, but Rice continued to shout and gesticulate.
Jeremy Freeman, an expert lip-reader, has exclusively revealed what Rice said to Stuivenberg during the clip. The ex-West Ham United captain began the sequence by saying 'Just go!' before Gabriel blurts out 'Stop, please stop, please stop' in the direction of the Arsenal coach.
"Of for f*** sake," is what followed from Rice, who was animated throughout the entire altercation, as his teammate asked him to remain as calm as he possibly could. According to Freeman, Rice then threw out a ten-word insult:
"He doesn't know what the hell he is on about!"
Footage of the fiery encounter ends with Gabriel saying: 'Calm. Hey, stop! Hey, calm.' Stuivenberg has been beside Arteta in the dugout since 2019 – and his moniker, AirPod Albert, is as a result of him regularly wearing a wireless earpiece during matches.
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Arteta and Stuivenberg, who spent 13 years at Feyenoord before being Louis van Gaal's assistant manager at Manchester United between 2014 and 2016, struck up a friendship when studying for their UEFA A coaching licenses in Cardiff with the Football Association of Wales.
Following the midfielder's substitution in the 82nd minute of play, when Arsenal had theoretically put one foot into the final at Wembley Stadium, Rice and Stuivenberg embraced on the touchline – suggesting they had let bygones be bygones for the betterment of the north Londoners.
Could A Fiery Rice Inspire Silverware Success?
Arsenal's Declan Rice reacts
Is this what Arsenal have been lacking? Since Arteta's arrival, the club have only picked up one piece of major silverware – the FA Cup in 2020 – and that's despite spending a huge sum of money on new arrivals, such as Rice himself. But the midfielder does bring some much-needed needle.
Arsenal have now finished runners-up in back-to-back-to-back Premier League campaigns and 2025/26 could be their best-ever chance of winning silverware.
They are, at the time of writing, sitting at the top of the English top flight (six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City) and still in all three cup competitions.
Declan Rice's 25/26 Premier League Stats vs Arsenal Squad
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Trophy-winners need character, of course, and Rice could be the driving force for the London club. Not only did Rice clash with an Arsenal staff member, but he was also spotted trying to get a bite out of the Stamford Bridge contingent after the Gunners scored their first of the affair.
All statistics per WhoScored – correct as of 16/01/2026