Declan Rice received special recognition from Paul Merson after Arsenal defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
With a 3-1 aggregate score, the victory guaranteed the Gunners’ spot in the Champions League quarterfinals and preserved their ambitions of winning a historic quadruple.
Kasper Hjulmand’s team were eliminated by Arsenal in style in North London, and former Gunners great Merson thinks the current generation of stars are performing at an alarming level.
The pundit, who was speaking on Sky Sports, was quite complimentary of the team’s performance in getting the Gunners to the final eight of Europe’s top competition for the third year in a row.
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“Arsenal played very well at times. They are just rolling,” Merson said as quoted by Goal.
“I don’t want to say ‘machine’ because it is disrespectful, but this is a machine that can do everything. They are a proper team.
“It was a brilliant performance. Onto the quarter-finals. Ben White was steady. Whoever comes in, he does a job.”
Although the entire team was praised, Rice’s outstanding work in the engine room made headlines.
In the 63rd minute, the England international put an end to any chance of a Leverkusen comeback with a skillfully controlled strike into the bottom corner.
Merson Lauds Rice
The 27-year-old was immediately recognized by Merson as the driving force behind the win.
“What a goal. They were under pressure, Leverkusen. Some great defending from Jarell Quansah and then Viktor Gyokeres’ shot got blocked for a corner when he should have passed it to Saka.
“The corner gets cleared to Declan Rice, it’s coming out the air, he takes a touch… you think he’s going to shoot, he takes another touch and then whips it in the corner.
“It’s a phenomenal finish by Declan Rice and who, again, has been absolutely outstanding.”
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