Declan Rice says the Arsenal dressing room was ‘chaos’ after the 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid saw the Gunners qualify for the Champions League final.
Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game just before half-time, Rice put in a monster performance in midfield, and the celebrations at the final whistle were an incredible display of togetherness between players, staff and fans inside the stadium.
Speaking to a broadcaster afterwards, the England international was asked about how it was going in the changing room, and said, “It’s chaos. I don’t think you can underestimate what we’ve done in this competition up to this point.
“I think we had every right to celebrate that moment. It’s such a big moment, Champions League final, the most prestigious tournament in club football. It’s a proud moment for the boys, for the club.
“We’re just trying to soak it all in.”
Pressed on how this season is playing out, and what’s still to play for, the 27 year old admitted previous disappointments are going a long way to fuel this team.
“I think just where this club’s come from over the last few years and what we’ve been building, the narrow losses that we’ve had in the Premier League, going out of cup competitions, things that hurt you as a player,” he said.
“The manager’s taken full control. We’ve kept building, kept adding good quality to the squad. We’ve kept pushing each other. And in this competition and the Premier League, we’ve gone full throttle and we find ourselves in a very good position with less than a month to go.
“So, look, it’s all to play for. It’s got to stay composed and focused. It’s a tough one because we’re into the Champions League final, but Sunday now is a massive one as well.
“So we’ve got to focus on that too.”
Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid – player ratings