After witnessing Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli's devastating displays against Sevilla, Declan Rice joked that he was relieved he was on their team, rather than having to deal with the duo!
Our wide men were outstanding during our 2-0 win against the reigning Europa League holders, with the Brazilian tormenting full-back Juanlu Sanchez time and again to create chances, while Bukayo registered an assist for Leandro Trossard's opener before netting an excellent solo strike himself.
And Declan dished out high praise for his teammates post-match, saying: "I think tonight was massive for them for their confidence. I think 1v1 they were frightening, every time they had the full-backs 1v1, they drove at them and I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that to be honest with you! They were both electric.
"We were very good, high energy, at it from the start, full gas. We didn’t let them breathe, I think they had one shot all game. It was just an all-round really good performance, especially with them sitting really deep playing a back five, which is always hard to break down. But once we did it, it was a very good performance."
The victory puts us on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages, which is exactly the level Declan wanted to reach when he opted to move to north London in the summer.
A win against Lens at Emirates Stadium on matchday five will secure us top spot in the group, and the prospect of achieving that with a game to spare is driving the England midfielder on as he looks to take his talents to a new stage.
On what he's made of playing in the competition so far, he added: "It’s really special. It’s the Champions League. It’s the biggest nights you can get as a player, and it’s a privilege to be playing in it.
"The group stage games have been amazing so far, and hopefully if we get through to the knockouts, it’ll be another level up, so I’m really looking forward towards that already.
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