Declan Rice Defends Gabriel After Arsenal Penalty Heartbreak

Declan Rice defended Gabriel and Eberechi Eze after Arsenal’s Champions League dream ended in penalty heartbreak against Paris Saint-Germain.

Mikel Arteta’s side lost 4-3 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in Budapest, with Gabriel missing the decisive penalty as PSG retained the trophy.

Arsenal had been chasing the first Champions League title in the club’s history after already ending their 22-year wait for the Premier League title this season, but the final ended in the cruellest way after Kai Havertz’s early goal was cancelled out by Ousmane Dembélé’s second-half penalty.

Rice admitted the defeat was devastating, but immediately backed his team-mates after the shootout.

“It’s gutting,” Rice said. “It’s devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties.

“But we win together, we lose together. I’m so proud of this group and these boys.”

Gabriel and Eze were both left devastated after failing to score in the shootout, but Rice insisted Arsenal would not allow either player to carry the blame.

“Obviously to miss a penalty in a Champions League final is not nice, but we love them,” he said. “We’re with them. That happens in football.”

Rice also pointed to their importance across Arsenal’s title-winning season, saying the club would not have become Premier League champions without them.

“Without them two this season, we wouldn’t have won the Premier League, that’s for sure,” Rice said.

“Gabriel, I’ve run out of words for him as a person, as a player. And Eze as well, the crucial goals he’s come up with for us this year.”

Rice also felt Arsenal had a strong penalty appeal in extra time, comparing the incident involving Rodri to the penalty awarded against Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the competition. However, he stopped short of using the decision as an excuse.

“I was gutted because I thought the ref would go and have a look,” he said. “But it was obviously not clear enough to be a pen.”

The midfielder said Arteta was “gutted” in the dressing room, but had reminded the squad of how far they had come during a season in which they won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final.

Rice added: “We got over the line in the Premier League, which was a dream come true. This would have been one step further. It wasn’t meant to be, but we keep building.

“This ain’t going to define us.”