Declan Rice scored to help Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen (Picture: CBS)
Declan Rice says Arsenal are ‘looking forward’ to Sunday’s huge Carabao Cup final clash with Manchester City and believe they can beat anyone right now.
Mikel Arteta’s side took care of business in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Eberechi Eze’s superb strike broke the deadlock before Rice’s second-half strike secured a 3-1 aggregate win for the Gunners against their German opposition.
The victory only helps to build momentum ahead of the weekend, where Arsenal will look to win their first major trophy since the FA Cup in 2020.
Pep Guardiola’s City side stand in the way, and Rice believes that the Sunday’s result could prove pivotal when it comes the Premier League run-in over the coming weeks and months.
‘Definitely, it could be the start of something,’ he told CBS. ‘It’s the first trophy that is up for grabs.
‘If you win that, the momentum after that that takes you forward is massive.
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Rice impressed again at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)
‘But Sunday is going to be a great game against them, and it comes down to how much you want it. Arsenal are back in a final for maybe the first time since the Carabao Cup final in 2019, I think.
‘So, how do you want it on Sunday? How much do you want to win a trophy for this team and these fans?’
Wednesday’s victory means Arsenal are now unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions, with Rice suggesting that run of form has the Gunners confident of beating anyone.
Arsenal now face City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final (Picture: Getty)
‘The lads are already talking about in there, we’re excited, we’re ready,’ he said on Sunday’s showdown.
‘And like I said at the minute every game of football we go into, we believe we can win so we’ll be ready and looking forward to it.’
Meanwhile, Arteta was keen to praise Rice’s individual performance in what was already his 16th start of the calendar year.
‘He was immense,’ the Arsenal boss told reporters post-match.
‘Him and the whole team – I just mentioned the soul of the team, I think the manner that they go for every ball, the passion that they show and the reaction is remarkable.
‘Doing it every three days at that level is so difficult.’
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