Martin Keown believes Declan Rice will need to produce the performance of his career if Arsenal are to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old midfielder has been instrumental for the Gunners on the road to the final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, collecting three player-of-the-match awards along the way.
Rice claimed his first individual award of the season in late November when Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 3-1 in the league phase of the competition.
The UEFA Technical Observer Group described his display in that game as “dominant and powerful,” despite Rice not directly contributing to any of the three goals.
His second player-of-the-match award came in the second leg of the last-16, when Rice doubled Arsenal’s lead against Bayer Leverkusen by finding the bottom corner from range on the hour mark.
Rice was then recognised again for his performance in the second leg of the semi-final against Atletico Madrid, further cementing his status as one of the competition’s standout players.
Should Rice win the award in the final, he would become one of just five players to have claimed four player-of-the-match honours in a single Champions League season.
Speaking to football.london ahead of the final, which will be broadcast exclusively on TNT Sports and HBO Max, Keown said: “I think Declan’s going to have to have the game of his life.”
The Arsenal legend added: “He’s still got things to prove, but this could be the night of all nights for him to totally dominate a game of football.”
Keown was clear about the scale of the challenge facing Rice, saying: “He has to have almost the game of his life for Arsenal to win this because PSG are quite a magnificent outfit.”
Looking at the midfield battle, Keown highlighted Vitinha as a key figure for PSG, comparing the player to Bernardo Silva in terms of his role and availability for teammates.
“That’s what Bernardo Silva did for City for so many years. I think he does the same, Vitinha. They’ve got three really good midfield players who rotate around to be the deep player,” Keown said.
Keown also raised tactical questions about Arsenal’s approach, questioning whether Rice or Martin Odegaard would lead the press against PSG’s backline.
“I think that gives it away in the formation. If you can see Odegaard’s playing, right, they’re going to go and press, they’re going to go right up on top of PSG,” Keown added.
The pundit also suggested that Myles Lewis-Skelly could be pivotal in unlocking the best from Rice, praising the youngster’s recent displays in the run-up to the final.
Keown said of Lewis-Skelly: “I particularly like the way he punches balls through midfield. He’s frightened of nobody or no reputation.”
He concluded that Lewis-Skelly’s presence in the team could free up Rice to have a greater impact, adding: “That frees up Declan.”
Keown will be part of the exclusive TNT Sports and HBO Max coverage of the UEFA Champions League final this Saturday, May 31.
