Declan Rice says that Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Bayern Munich was the team’s most challenging tactical battle of the season.
The German giants began the game by dominating possession, before Jurrien Timber’s headed goal took the wind out of their sails. Despite an equaliser, Mikel Arteta’s men turned the screw in the second 45, and absolutely deserved the win against a team who had previously won 17 of their 18 games this season (and drawn the other one).
Speaking to TNT Sports afterwards, the midfielder – who was superb in the engine room this evening and won the man of the match award from UEFA – revealed how difficult it was against the Bundesliga leaders.
“I think if you look at Bayern Munich this season, they’ve been the best team in Europe,” he said.
“And the games they’ve won tell you that. So we needed to know what type of game we were in for.
“Probably the toughest game tactically we’ve played all season, to be honest with you. The way they move, the way they drag you around, it takes a lot of communication and a lot of thinking.
“The way they work it is so, so good. It’s top tier. When they drop you deep, it’s so hard to pick up references across the pitch. It’s so hard to get up to a man because they’re just rotating constantly.
“It’s about staying zonal and waiting for the opportunity to pounce. I think in the second half, we did that much better. We got our references right.
“We really went man-to-man with them. It was an all-round great performance because it is Bayern Munich. They’ve been unbelievable this year.”
Rice also took a moment to pay tribute to his midfield partner, Martin Zubimendi, whose presence as the de facto anchorman, has allowed him to drive into forward positions to such good effect.
“It’s been so easy to play with him,” he said. “We obviously only signed him in the summer. Usually, to build a connection with a player takes a while.
“From the first moment we had with each other in pre-season, I could just tell that I was going to play some good football with him. I just really, really liked him as a person, as a player. I think as the games have gone on, our understanding of each other has been outstanding.”
And when asked about Mikel Arteta’s pre-game messaging, he revealed, “He just spoke about the importance of communication before the game.
“Especially when you’ve got Harry Kane dropping from striker all the way to the edge of the box. He’s just sent the half prepared to go the whole way with him. There’s so many different things.
“He spoke about the power of communication. And tonight, I think everyone was on it. You could feel it. There was a feeling in the stomach. Everyone was bang up for it. It was another special European night.”
It really was an impressive performance which puts Arsenal top of the Champions League table, and now attention turns to Sunday’s visit to Chelsea.
Check out Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich player ratings
