SouthernWorldwide.com – Declan Rice has shared his perspective on his development into a “big-game player” as Arsenal approaches a significant Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Having already clinched the Premier League title, the England midfielder is now focused on achieving a historic double by winning the Champions League in Budapest.
Rice is not new to European success, having previously captained West Ham to victory in the Europa Conference League.
However, as he prepares to lead Arsenal’s midfield in the Champions League final, the stakes are higher than ever. The 27-year-old believes he has cultivated the necessary temperament to perform when the world is watching, describing himself as a specialist for football’s grandest stages.
“I would like to say I’m a big-game player,” Rice stated in an interview with uefa.com during the build-up to the final.
“When you play in the biggest competitions, you need your players to step up at every single point, and not only just me. I think our team have done that over the last few years in big games – we’ve stepped up, especially in the Champions League. There’s a few of us that have got that in us, and we’re going to need that going into the final as well.”
While Rice experienced the elation of lifting a trophy in Prague with the Hammers, his career has also been marked by several heartbreaking final defeats, including two European Championship losses with England.
Instead of allowing these setbacks to hinder him, the midfielder uses them as motivation to avoid experiencing that “hurt” again.
Rice is confident that every loss has prepared him well for the challenge posed by Luis Enrique’s PSG side.
“I’ve lost a fair few finals now: two EURO finals, the League Cup final. It hurts because when you get to a final, you want to win that trophy. But also, all the little losses that you take stand you in really good stead. It makes you hungrier to want to go and win stuff, and hopefully that’s what we can keep doing,” the midfielder noted.
With a Premier League medal already secured, the team’s attention is now solely on the “beautiful trophy” that has historically eluded Arsenal.
After their semifinal exit to PSG last season, Rice is adamant that the Gunners have absorbed the crucial lessons needed to advance further this time. He believes the squad is prepared to give their absolute all to ensure the season concludes on the highest possible note.
“PSG are a really good side. We played them over two legs last year. It could have gone either way. What did we learn from last season’s semi-final defeat? That you’ve got to take your chances, because we had plenty of them,” Rice cautioned.
Rice played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s Premier League title-winning campaign, ending a 22-year drought for the club. He contributed four goals and seven assists in 36 appearances in the competition.
The 27-year-old recognizes that reaching the Champions League final represents an unmissable opportunity to finally secure the title that has been out of his team’s grasp.
Rice stated: “It’s the biggest competition in football. Champions League final, it gets no bigger than that. What a chance, what an opportunity. It’ll be the last kick of club football for the season, so to go out on a high and give it absolutely everything.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The tournament will be hosted across three countries, with the final match scheduled for July 19 at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 matches of the tournament will be broadcast live on FOX (70 matches) and FS1 (34 matches), with every game available for live streaming and on-demand viewing through both the FOX One and FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, which is more than one-third of the tournament’s schedule, will be aired in prime time across FOX (21 matches) and FS1 (19 matches).
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The opening match on June 11, featuring Mexico against South Africa, is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET and will be streamed for free on Tubi. Additionally, the United States’ opening match against Paraguay on June 12, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET, will also be available for streaming.
