Rice preaches 'positivity' as Arsenal advance to Champions League semi-finals: 'Who cares what people think?'

The Gunners secured a spot in the Champions League semi-final for the second straight season after holding Sporting CP to a scoreless draw at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, a result that followed last week's 1-0 first-leg victory by the Premier League side in Portugal.

It wasn't exactly the best advertisement for free-flowing football on Wednesday, as Arsenal struggled to create chances but remained steadfast in defence against a Sporting side who were lacking in ideas themselves, but advancement to the penultimate round of the Champions League is all that matters to Rice.

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"Frustrating? No, we just got to a semi-final, positivity all the way," the Arsenal midfielder told TNT Sports when asked if he was disheartened by the performance. "Who cares what people think? All that matters is what this group think, what the manager thinks and we're in another semi-final. I'm delighted."

Rice admitted that Sporting provided "a really tough test over two games" amid a run of poor performances by the Gunners, in which they've failed in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup over the past month while also allowing Manchester City to close the gap in the Premier League title race. However, the England international said he's not fazed by the growing doubts coming from outside the club and believes his side are prepared for a gruelling final stretch of the season as Arsenal chase the domestic and continental titles.

"Like being at any other top club, there's noise with everything," he said. "This is Arsenal Football Club, there's noise with every game. If you don't play well, if you don't play good, take it with a pinch of salt and keep moving.

"Bring on the last few weeks. It's a rollercoaster. Nobody's going to hand you anything in this game. Let's keep going and what will be will be. Let's keep going strong."

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