“He keeps wasting all my chances every time and he made Bukayo Saka got injured”- Arsenal star Declan Rice slammed two Arsenal players who carelessly made Arsenal lose their match to Lens last night after their disastrous performance
“He keeps wasting all my chances and causing Bukayo Saka to get injured”- Arsenal star Declan Rice lambasted two Arsenal players who irresponsibly caused Arsenal to lose their match against Lens last night following their dismal performance.
Declan Rice discusses Arsenal’s flaws following Lens’s Champions League comeback victory.
Arsenal took an early lead but Lens rallied for a deserving 2-1 victory, leaving Declan Rice and company to reflect on their first defeat of the season.
Declan Rice believes Arsenal were not clinical enough in their 2-1 Champions League defeat at the hands of Lens.
The Gunners took the lead in the 14th minute, but Gabriel Jesus’ score was cancelled out by Adrien Thomasson and Elye Wahi goals each side of halftime. Rice analyzed his team’s effort after the game, telling TNT Sports, “I feel we created enough to win the game, for sure.”
We blew several significant opportunities. It’s a fantastic finish for both their first goal and the second goal we generated with our own issues. I think we dominated the game, but they are no easy opponent. We had to be there, but there was just that last element that was missing. They deserve credit. They defended quite effectively, and some of their center-backs gave outstanding displays.”
Rice, on the other hand, believes that now is not the time to worry. “We’re ten games into the season, and there’s another 50 to go,” the £105 million midfielder continued. “We’re just warming up and getting into our rhythm, but our full focus turns back to the league and it’s a massive game on Sunday.”
That “massive game” is against Premier League championship rivals Manchester City, and key player Bukayo Saka could be ruled out. Arteta confessed that he doesn’t know how serious the England international’s injury is right now because he was pulled off in the first half.
Like Rice, the Gunners manager praised Lens, adding, “They are a really good side, exceptional opponent.” We gained the lead, and then they scored in one action. We had a huge opportunity right after the interval.
“It’s true that we didn’t create enough of a threat in the last third, as we have done on numerous times. We did not strike certain areas. The difference between this game and the one against PSV [Eindhoven] was in the boxes – we missed some big chances and didn’t defend well enough for their goals.
“Mistakes happen in football, and they will continue to happen in some form or another,” he said, “but the difference was made in both boxes.” You must score goals while also defending effectively. It was an important night for us. We were unable to obtain the desired outcome, but we were able to learn.”
Arsenal are second in their group after defeating PSV 4-0 in their first game. They will travel to Sevilla on October 24.
