Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Wednesday, 06 May 2026, 07:42 / Updated Wednesday, 06 May 2026 07:42
Declan Rice (27), the Arsenal midfielder, drew the first conclusions after the success achieved by his team, score 1-0, against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. This victory qualified the Gunners for the final of the competition, the second in the club's history, after losing 1-2 to Barcelona exactly 20 years ago in 2006.
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Arsenal will play in the Champions League final with the winner of the “double” between Bayern and PSG. In the round, the Parisians prevailed 5-4 at home.
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The Champions League final will be played in Budapest on May 30
For Rice, who started on Tuesday night and was instrumental in the success, it will be a second final, following their Conference League triumph in 2023 with another London side, West Ham.
Declan Rice's reaction after Arsenal qualified for the Champions League final
“I don't think you can underestimate what we've achieved in this tournament so far. We have every right to celebrate, it's such an important moment. The Champions League is the most prestigious inter-club competition and it's a great pride for the club and the boys.
We knew going into the game what was at stake: if we win, we go to the Champions League final. If you can't prepare for a moment like this, then you can't prepare for any football match.
The fans really inspired us and gave us energy. As soon as we went 1-0 up, we knew we were going to win. I just felt it. It was such a beautiful moment to be there tonight.
I always knew what Myles Lewis-Skelly could do. I remember last year, when he played so many games, when he turned 18, then I thought: wow, we really have a big player. He didn't play as much as he would have liked this season, but what I noticed is that he worked so hard. He does everything right every day.
Where this club has gone in recent years, with the defeats we have suffered in the Premier League and the eliminations from the cups, these things could have affected us. The coach took full control, we continued to build and add quality to the team. We continued to push each other, both in this tournament and in the Premier League we hit the gas pedal and found ourselves in a very good position with less than a month to go.
All we have to do is keep playing, but also stay calm and focused. It is difficult, because we are in the final of the Champions League, but this Sunday is also very important, being the match against West Ham”, said Rice, quoted by sportal.bg.
