Declan Rice was standing when the final whistle blew, while a few Arsenal players fell to the Allianz field.

For a short while, he may have fallen to his haunches, but he quickly got back up and paced the field, praising the Bayern players, shaking hands with his teammates, and heading straight for the departing Arsenal fans, raising his hands above his head to show gratitude for their support.

nor sobbing, nor running away. It would be an understatement to say that Rice did not live up to his reputation as this contest’s probable game-decider.

Indeed, it would be accurate to state that his contribution throughout the course of the two legs was mediocre, and his absence was most noticeable when Joshua Kimmich’s header secured the goal that advanced Bayern Munich to the Champions League round of four.
As the season’s best signing, Rice has been hailed as one of the Premier League’s finest performers thus far. He now has a fair chance of missing out on a trophy in his Arsenal debut season.

However, regardless of how far his performance deviated from his typical standards, Rice will accept it and move on. And what is true for him is also true for a great number of Arsenal players who did not perform up to par in Munich or, for that matter, at the Emirates during the first leg.


Both Rice and this Arsenal team are on a learning curve at the moment. They were certainly comparable to Harry Kane’s Bayern in terms of skill and quality, but there was a clear difference in their game management acumen.


For example, this Arsenal team either panicked or made the wrong decision when they found themselves in the final third, which was not very frequently. It was hard to execute because of their nervousness. Nothing captured that more than when, in the closing seconds, goalkeeper David Raya went up for a corner and Bukayo Saka’s attempt to beat the first man with his corner kick was unsuccessful.
That was essentially the tale of Arsenal’s evening: carelessness resulting from their nervousness. Furthermore, the absence of a superior target man was also ineffective.


However, the team’s season has been lengthy and difficult, and they still lack the depth to emerge as a legitimate force in European football. Throughout the two legs, they had their moments of opportunity, not the least of which was when Ben White squandered a fantastic opportunity to put the Gunners up in the first half of the match.
But a far more astute team outwitted, outthought, and outplayed them. Rice was aware of it when the last whistle blew. Both he and his teammates will gain knowledge from it.