Broken, not beaten: Rice sends clear message after Arsenal's painful defeat
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Reading Time: 4min | Sun. 31.05.26. | 00:18
The Gunners fell one step short of European glory, but their vice-captain believes the pain of Budapest will fuel future success
When the Gunners took an early lead and protected it well into the second half, dreams of conquering Europe for the first time in the club's history suddenly felt within reach. But football can be brutally unforgiving. PSG fought back, forced penalties, and ultimately retained their European crown, leaving Arsenal to reflect on what might have been.
For Declan Rice, the disappointment was immense, yet the England midfielder refused to allow one painful night to overshadow everything Arsenal achieved this season.
"It hurts to lose a Champions League final on penalties," Rice admitted afterwards. "But we've tried to look at the bigger picture and how far we've come as a team. It's been an incredible season. This was our 63rd match in all competitions and we gave absolutely everything."
The midfielder acknowledged the cruel nature of a penalty shootout.
"We managed to take the game all the way to penalties. That's a lottery. That's football. You can win them, you can lose them. Some of the greatest teams in the world have lost on penalties. Unfortunately, tonight it was our turn."
Rice was particularly keen to defend Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes, whose missed spot-kicks proved decisive.
"They're devastated," he said. "Missing a penalty in a Champions League final is not something anyone wants to experience. But we love them. That's football. They won't be the first players to miss in a final and they certainly won't be the last."
The Arsenal midfielder was quick to remind everyone of their contribution throughout the campaign.
"Without those two, we wouldn't have won the Premier League this season. It's cruel, but we have to take the positives from it."
One of the major talking points of the final came in extra time when Noni Madueke went down inside the PSG penalty area after a challenge from Nuno Mendes. Arsenal players appealed furiously, but no penalty was awarded.
Rice stopped short of criticising the officials.
"I haven't watched it back yet, but from where I was on the pitch it looked like Noni had got in front of him. It reminded me of a penalty we were awarded against Bayer Leverkusen in a similar situation."
Still, the midfielder preferred not to dwell on refereeing decisions.
"I'm not going to focus on that right now. At that moment, I was just heartbroken. Against PSG you have to be mentally perfect. I actually thought we grew into the game and created some good chances."
Rice also paid tribute to the newly crowned champions.
"PSG have suffered plenty of disappointments over the years before finally getting their moment. I think our moment will come too. Right now we're experiencing some painful setbacks, but we'll keep pushing forward."
He was full of praise for Luis Enrique's side.
"They're the best team in Europe. Probably the best attacking team in the world. They force you to play on their terms, but I thought we limited them well and they didn't create many clear chances. For a long time we believed we were going to win. It just wasn't meant to be."
Despite the heartbreak, Rice insisted the final should not be viewed as the end of Arsenal's journey - only another step in it.
"The emotions are huge because the stakes are so high. It's cruel. Mikel spoke to us afterward about how much he loves this group and how proud he is of what we've given throughout the season."
And then came the message Arsenal supporters will want to hear most.
"This is only the beginning for us. We've won the Premier League and that was fully deserved. Winning the Champions League would have been the next step, but it wasn't our time."
Rice pointed to the steady progress Arsenal have made since his arrival in North London.
"When I joined, we went out in the quarter-finals. Then we reached the semi-finals. Now we've played in the final. We're moving forward every season. We'll stay positive, we'll keep building, and this defeat will not define us."