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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 secured the Premier League title, the England midfielder is now focused on completing a legendary double in Budapest.
Rising for the largest apartments
Rice is no stranger to European success, having previously captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory.
But as he prepares to lead Arsenal’s midfield in the Champions League final, the stakes have never been higher. The 27-year-old believes he has developed the temperament required to thrive when the world is watching and describes himself as a specialist for the biggest stages in world football.
“I’d like to say I’m a big player,” Rice said in an interview with uefa.com in the build-up to the final.
“When you’re playing in the biggest tournaments, you need your players to step up at every point, not just me. I think our team has done that over the last few years in big games – we’ve stepped up, especially in the Champions League. There’s a couple of us who’ve got that in us and we’ll need that in the final as well.”
Learning from past final heartbreaks
While Rice experienced the pinnacle of lifting a trophy in Prague with the Hammers, his career has also been marked by several painful final defeats, including two European Championship losses with England.
Instead of letting these failures weigh him down, the midfielder uses them as fuel to make sure he doesn’t experience that “hurt” again.
Rice insists each loss stands him in good stead for the challenge of Luis Enrique’s PSG side.
“I’ve lost a couple of finals now: two EC 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 you take really stand you in good stead. It makes you hungrier to want to go and win things and hopefully that’s what we can keep doing,” remarked the midfielder.
Looking for a historical double room in Budapest
With a Premier League medal already secured, the focus shifts entirely to the “beautiful trophy” that has eluded Arsenal throughout their history.
Having fallen to PSG in the semi-finals last season, Rice is adamant the Gunners have learned the harsh lessons needed to go one step further this time around. He believes the team is ready to “empty the tank” to ensure they finish the season on the ultimate high.
“PSG are a really good team. 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 have to take your chances because we had plenty of them,” warned Rice.
What an opportunity
Rice was instrumental in Arsenal’s campaign towards the Premier League title, ending a 22-year drought for the Gunners. He scored four goals and provided seven assists in 36 appearances in the competition.
The 27-year-old understands that reaching the Champions League final presents an inevitable opportunity to finally secure the title that has eluded his side.
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’s going to be the last kick in club football of the season, so to go out on a high and give it absolutely everything.
2026 FIFA World Cup: How to watch
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Spread over three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament games will be broadcast live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every game streaming live and on-demand on both FOX One and the FOX Sports app. A record 40 games, more than a third of the tournament, are televised in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).
The June 11 opener between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will stream for free on Tubi, as will the USA’s June 12 opener against Paraguay (9 p.m. ET).
