Arsenal Invincible identifies ‘massive weapon’ for PSG Champions League clash

Declan Rice will be a ‘massive weapon’ for Arsenal against PSG in the Champions League semi-finals, according to Invincible Gilberto, who has hailed the £105 million midfielder

Arsenal Invincible Gilberto reckons Declan Rice’s form makes him a “massive weapon” for Mikel Arteta’s side against PSG in the Champions League semi-finals.

Rice was the driving force of the Gunners’ 5-1 aggregate demolition of defending champions Real Madrid in the last round. He scored two world-class free-kicks at the Emirates before putting on a defensive masterclass at the Bernabeu.

The £105 million England star faces another difficult task against a technical PSG midfield. But Gunners legend and club ambassador Gilberto is confident Rice will perform.

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“Declan is so stable. He was great for West Ham,” the Brazil 2002 World Cup winner and Striver co-founder told Mirror Football. “This is why we asked to look at him and brought him to the team, expecting him to provide these games.

“I can see an improvement in every game. When he raises his standard, he can be stable from one game to another. I believe this is a massive weapon for Arsenal because Arsenal can be dominant in the midfield with him, Thomas Partey, or anybody else he plays alongside to win the battles.”

“This is a very important sector of the pitch to get the right stability to support the guys up front. Like Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard,” Gilberto added. “But then, to protect the back four or back three, it doesn’t matter how they play in the back. And he has been so important at that, and many, many times, getting to the box. But when he has to defend, he has been so important. His physical presence has been massive for the team.”

However, Arsenal will have to make do without Partey on Tuesday night at the Emirates after the midfielder received a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards. Partey was receiving a telling-off from Rice against Madrid in the second leg for picking up the needless suspension.

Gilberto says Partey’s absence will be a big miss. “I think it will be a massive miss for Arsenal. I hope that they find the balance to cope without him,” Gilberto said.

“In this particular moment, when you get into this stage, everyone needs to be united and together when you don’t have everyone available, when you have somebody suspended, like Arsenal at the moment.”

Gilberto started for the Gunners in their last Champions League Final appearance nearly two decades ago, where they fell to Barcelona 2-1 in Paris. “For the preparation, we didn’t change much because we always trained very focused about what we had to do, no matter the opponents,” Gilberto continued. “Then we have a big game, which is the last of the season, the Final.

“And it’s the opportunity you have to become champion in this fantastic competition. And I think the toughest thing is when things do not work well for you, and you have your frustration because we believe that the game could be a lot better for us. We had Jens [Lehmann] sent off, and it became so hard for us during the ninety minutes.

“But one of the good things when I think about this game is because we did everything we could. Despite the circumstance of the game down to 10 men, we did a great job. This type of performance makes you proud. I left everything on the field.”