Pat Rice says he will never forget Arsenal’s “remarkable” comeback against Barcelona in 2011.
The Gunners were trailing by one goal heading into the final 12 minutes of the Champions League clash, but Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin struck within five minutes of each other to secure a historic win.
Rice had the best seat at Emirates Stadium for that match, next to Arsene Wenger on the first-team bench, and he recalled how impressed he was with Arsenal’s resilience over 90 minutes.
“I remember that Wojciech Szczesny was absolutely outstanding in the opening 20 minutes,” he told the Arsenal Weekly podcast.
“He was absolutely brilliant and he kept us in the game. If he wasn’t in that kind of form then it could have been a cricket score by 20 minutes.
“What I remember most, though, is that the actual fightback by the boys was just incredible. When you take into consideration how we actually played and how well Barcelona played in the opening 20 minutes, it was remarkable that we won that match.
“Time will tell whether we can do that again this season, but hopefully history will repeat itself when we meet them again.”
Listen to the full interview with Pat Rice on the latest episode of the Arsenal Weekly podcast.
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