‘Who cares what people think?’ – Declan Rice after Arsenal reach Champions League semi-finals

‘Who cares what people think?’ – Declan Rice after Arsenal reach Champions League semi-finals

Declan Rice says reaching another Champions League semi-final with Arsenal is an “amazing achievement”.

Arsenal set up a semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid after their goalless draw at home to Sporting CP, winning 1-0 on aggregate following their first-leg victory.

But asked if there was frustration that they did not manage to make it more comfortable, he replied: “Frustration? Nah. We’ve just got to a semi-final. No frustration. Positivity all the way.

“Who cares what people think? All that matters is what this group thinks, what the manager thinks and we’re in another semi-final.

“Delighted. So, so happy. It was a really tough test over two games but to go to back-to-back semi-finals is an amazing achievement for this group and now we want to go one step further than last year and get to the final.

“We played Atletico once this year and it was a really good game and we know what to expect so bring on these last couple of weeks.”

Stay up to date with all the latest Arsenal news by joining our Arsenal WhatsApp channel.

Asked about the difficulty of dealing with the noise around the club following three recent defeats, Rice said: “It’s like being at any other top club. There’s noise with everything. This is Arsenal Football Club.

“There’s noise with every game, there’s scrutiny if we play well, we play good, take it with a pinch of salt and keep moving and bring on the last few weeks.

“It’s a rollercoaster. No one is going to hand you anything in this game so keep going and what will be, will be. Keep going strong.”

If you enjoy our articles, help us out by making Hayters.com one of your preferred sources on Google by clicking here.