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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry reckons Declan Rice was at fault for Bayern Munich's equalizer in their 2-2 draw in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (April 9).
The Gunners had a bright start to the contest at the Emirates Stadium, taking the lead in the 12th minute through Bukayo Saka. However, Bayern leveled the scores six minutes later after Serge Gnabry slotted past David Raya.
Henry was far from impressed with Rice's positioning in the build-up to Gnabry's goal. The England international attempted to intercept a pass from Leroy Sane to Leon Goretzka in the middle of the pitch. This led to the latter exploiting the space left behind, who did well to assist Gnabry with a perfectly weighted pass.
Henry analyzed the play on CBS Sports (via METRO):
"The goal of Gnabry and what Declan Rice should have done at that particular moment, because you’re the police officer and a mistake happened, you have to rectify it."
"More often than not he does it, but he didn’t do it tonight. We talk about the goalkeeper coming, we talk about the back pass, but look at the distance between the two centre-backs, and I know at that particular moment it doesn’t look like that you’re going to be in trouble."
He added:
"At that moment you cannot make the three steps he’s going to make. Leroy Sane wasn’t born yesterday, you make those three steps, Goretzka sees it and runs in behind because look at the gap between Gabriel and Saliba, and you have a man [Gnabry] running."
"If he [Rice] stays and sees the guys all in front of him, nothing happens. But as you know, when you lose the ball you tend to want to go [to close down] because he thought it was going to be a short pass. But he’s [Sane] clever, he’s [Goretzka] clever, and on that one you are not."
When asked if William Saliba could have intercepted the pass, Henry replied:
"You’re dead. You can’t. He’s aware of Gnabry coming. It’s a hell of a pass. It’s Leroy Sane on the ball, it’s not a guy at the bottom of the Premier League on the ball."
"You go there, the guy on the ball saw it, that’s on you, you shouldn’t lose that ball. I’m just saying Declan Rice at that particular moment, just don’t go, [stay in a] back three and you see Gnabry, Sane and Goretzka coming."
Harry Kane converted his penalty in the 32nd minute to give the Bavarians the lead, however, Arsenal were able to secure a point thanks to Leandro Trossard's 76th-minute leveler.
How did Arsenal fare against Bayern Munich in their UCL Q/F clash?
Despite being billed as the favorites to secure all three points, Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at home. Both sides will have all to play for in the second leg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, April 17. Let's take a look at the stats to see how both sides performed:
Arsenal dominated possession with 60 percent of the ball, attempting a total of 527 passes with an accuracy of 88 percent. In contrast, Bayern had 40 percent possession and attempted 366 passes with an accuracy of 82 percent.
Moreover, Arsenal were superior in attack as well, landing 13 shots in total with four being on target. In contrast, the Bavarians only mustered eight shots, with just two being on target.
