Declan Rice makes defiant new Arsenal trophy vow after Champions League exit | OneFootball

Martin Odegaard has also called on the Gunners to channel the pain of PSG semi-final defeat to bounce back stronger

It is five years since they last lifted any major silverware, with Arteta having so far not managed to add to the FA Cup secured in his first season in the job back in 2020, aside from two Community Shield triumphs.

But Rice is adamant that these setbacks will help Arsenal achieve their goals in the end.

"It’s gutting, such a dominant start,” the England midfielder told TNT Sports. “If you score one of them chances probably in the first 15 or 20 minutes, then the game completely changes. It’s just the small margins in football.

“Two mistakes from us, two goals for them. With the chances we missed, it just felt like it wasn’t meant to be.

“We gave it absolutely everything, this competition you’re either in or you’re out. Over the two legs we could've scored three or four goals to be honest but [Gianluigi] Donnarumma has been unbelievable and you’ve got to look at the small margins. It just obviously wasn't meant to be.

"In life in general, sometimes you have to lose a few in order to win and you have to overcome some of these setbacks to mentally grow as a person, as a player and as a group.

“We're going through that stage at the minute after a few losses in terms of losing out on the league and coming close in the Champions League in back-to-back years.

“We're growing as a team, as people, but we need to keep pushing and keep believing. This is why we play this sport, there are going to be setbacks along the way.

Rice admitted that it has been a struggle for Arsenal to play so much of the season without so many key players, but said they fully believed they could complete their comeback mission in Paris.

"It's tough,” he continued. “We've done the whole season without five or six of our best players and to be where we are and do what we've done has been unbelievable. I fully stand by that.

“In the end the group of players who have gone out there have given it absolutely everything, the whole squad has, even the players that flew over with us tonight that have been injured, every staff member.

“Everyone fully believed and I think you could see that from the first whistle, how much we believed we could win and go out there and put on a performance.

“On another night we maybe score two or three, it was just that first 20 minutes where they score and we don't take our chances and it’s a real kick in the teeth.

“We’ll assess it, we'll be back. Three games left, it's been a really long season, we really, really wanted this one, but we keep pushing because this is why we play this sport. We want to win and do the best we can."

On continuing their run without a trophy under Arteta, Rice added: “We're all desperate for it. That's why we play football, we want to win trophies, we want to be at the pinnacle, winning stuff.

“For whatever reason, these last two years in the cup competitions and the Premier League, it hasn't been meant to be.

“We've been really, really close and it's obviously not good enough, because Arsenal are a club that deserve to be winning trophies and deserve to be pushing and there’s not a lot more we can really be doing.

“Sometimes in life you have to go through these small losses in order to win big. That’s what a lot of these big superstars have done in the past, they have all suffered defeats to then come out on top.

“It hurts, you see the boys in there, the manager. It’s tough, it’s a semi-final. We wanted to be in Munich and it’s obviously not meant to be but this doesn't define us and we'll be back for sure."

Rice’s midfield colleague Martin Odegaard, meanwhile, challenged Arsenal to channel the pain of their semi-final loss into a force for good moving forward.

"We gave it a proper go,” the captain said. “I think we started the game really well. We were on the front foot, had the momentum, a few big moments and chances but in the end it wasn't enough.

“Between the boxes we did really well, inside the boxes over the two games we weren't good enough. Credit to their goalkeeper as well who made some amazing saves. It wasn't enough and that's painful.

"In the boxes, especially today what we did with the ball between the boxes, how we dominated, how we took the control of the game from the start and created some big moments. We were not strong enough and sharp enough in front of the goals and I think that's where we lost it.

"It's painful, very painful. We wanted to do the big thing, it was a big goal in the league and also here in the Champions League. Massive disappointment but we have to stay strong and stay together. We have to take the lessons, take that pain and use it and come back stronger.

"We have to learn from this. We did a lot of good things but it's not enough. Especially in front of the goals, it’s where the games are decided and that's where we have to be even sharper and get more out of all the good things we did. That’s where we have to improve and use this pain in a good way and come back stronger.”