Declan Rice bites back at Wayne Rooney! Arsenal midfielder rejects Man Utd legend's 'fear' criticism ahead of PSG showdown

Rooney had criticised the Gunners after their 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, suggesting that the team habitually falters under pressure. He implied that Mikel Arteta’s side lacked the mentality to go the distance, stating Arsenal "typically hit a wall" at this point in major competitions. However, Rice was quick to challenge that narrative ahead of the crucial return leg in Paris on Wednesday.

Rice dismissed the idea that Arsenal should be intimidated by their French opponents, pointing to their previous success against PSG in the competition as evidence of their resilience. The midfielder also referenced Arsenal’s away victories over PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid earlier in the knockout rounds to drive home his point.

"It was the same team, other than [Ousmane] Dembele and [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia. Everyone else started and we beat them. So there’s no fear,” Rice told reporters, referring to Arsenal's 2-0 win against PSG in the league phase.

"I think the goal inside three minutes probably shocked us a little bit, shocked the atmosphere a little bit. But once we found a foothold in the game again, we started creating chances. The goalkeeper made some amazing saves. We fully believed that we could beat them. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be, but we’ve seen enough and we know enough as a team that we can do something really, really good."

The match in Paris will be a test of Arsenal's mental and tactical maturity, particularly under the pressure of playing away from home in such a high-stakes fixture. Following the showdown with PSG, Arsenal will turn their attention back to the Premier League, with a trip to Anfield on Sunday. There, they will face newly crowned champions Liverpool and are expected to form a guard of honour before kick-off.