"Has been insane again", "They'll never make me hate him" - Arsenal fans hail superstar after their 7-1 win over PSV in UCL clash

Arsenal fans waxed lyrical about Declan Rice for his performance in their Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night. The English midfielder was a powerhouse in the middle of the park as the Gunners made a statement victory (7-1) over their Dutch counterparts.

Arsenal have struggled to get positive results in the last few games, and there were doubts if they could turn an unwanted spell around against the reigning Eredivisie champions. Both teams exchanged blows in the early stages of the game, but the Gunners had more ball possession.

Eighteen minutes into proceedings, Arsenal were already ahead as Declan Rice’s lofted pass found Jurrien Timber, who headed home from close range.

Three minutes later, Mikel Arteta’s side doubled their lead as a smart, fantastic Arsenal move ended with a Myles Lewis-Skelly pass into the box for Ethan Nwaneri to fire home.

Makeshift striker Mikel Merino added a third in the 31st minute as he capitalized on a defensive blunder from PSV.

Noa Long pulled one back for the Dutch side two minutes before halftime as he converted from the spot. However, Arsenal responded with two quickfire goals within three minutes after the restart.

Martin Ødegaard added a fourth in the 46th minute while Leandro Trossard poked home a fifth in the 48th minute. Odegaard scored his second of the night as he fired home a sixth in the 73rd minute, while Ricardo Calafiori put the icing on the cake five minutes from time.

While Martin Ødegaard won the MOTM award, Declan Rice also stood out on the night. The former West Ham man made two key passes, registered a passing accuracy of 89% (32/36), created two big chances, and received a rating of 7.9 as per Sofascore.

After the match, fans took to X to praise Rice for his performance. An X user wrote:

''Rice has been insane again, as he often is in these type of games. Ridiculous the way people were speaking about him because he ran down a blind alley and lost possession once.''

Another user tweeted:

''Rice is unreal they'll never make me hate him''

''Rice is him. There can be no doubt about it. People just want him to be HIM so much that they actually forget that he is... him.'' @nonewthing wrote

''Monster performance from Rice.'' @JCourier1 added

''They always try and downplay my glorious king Declan Rice'' @Bristol_boy_69 chimed in

What Mikel Arteta said about Arsenal’s performance after 7-1 trashing of PSV

Arsenal have almost their two legs in the quarterfinals of the Champions League following their 7-1 thumping of PSV at the Philips Stadion.

It was absolutely one of the best performances for Mikel Arteta’s side so far this season, as their victory made them the first team in UCL history to score 7+ goals away from home in a knockout stage match.

Speaking after the match, Arteta said he enjoyed his team’s performance and described the encounter as a special night. The Gunners boss told reporters (via the club’s website):

''I really enjoyed the match – thank you to the players for the performance they put in on a big night for us against a really good side. The way they went through in the last round against Juventus was really impressive so the manner that we’ve done it, the way that we’ve played, the goals that we scored; thank you because it was a special night.’’

Arsenal will next be in action against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, March 9.