"There were no skidders" - Arsenal star Declan Rice clears air on suspicious stain in his shorts against Porto
Declan Rice scored from the spot and had an overall excellent game for Arsenal in their Round of 16 second-leg win against FC Porto at the Emirates in the UEFA Champions League on March 12.
However, the talking point for Rice shifted to a stain on the back of his shorts at a rather unusual position. Media rumors began to circulate about the original source of his brown stain.
Rice ended the speculation by sharing his take on the story to Steve Sidwell on The Peter Crouch Podcast (via the Sun):
“I’ve seen that circulating, and it does look very suspicious. That’s because there is nothing else around the shorts other than that area. I can confirm that there were no skidders, mate.
"So, I’m happy to assume it’s 100 per cent mud. I did fly into a few tackles and got myself in a few positions. So yeah mate, it definitely ain't that."
Arsenal won the second leg 1-0 at the Emirates. However, with the overall aggregate being tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes, the game went to a shootout, where the Gunners prevailed 4-2, with Rice converting his 12-yard shot.
Overall, he was given a 7.6 rating on SofaScore, with the defensive midfielder making four clearances, winning 75% of his aerial duels, having a pass accuracy of 84% and not getting dribbled past once.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hails David Raya
On-loan signing (from Brentford) David Raya was signed last summer by Mikel Arteta. The Gunners boss supplanted Aaron Ramsdale with Raya early in the season, with the Spanish shot-stopper showing great heroics in the team's win against Porto.
Raya stopped two penalties during the shootout, jumping correctly on three of the four occasions. Arteta praised his starting goalkeeper, saying (via the Gunners' website):
"Credit to the coaches as well for the way they did it and obviously for David [Raya]. He had some difficult moments to start but he stood up with an incredible personality and ambition, and at the end he got rewarded with his moment."
Arsenal face Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, a team who has scored 15 goals against the Gunners in their last three encounters