Ally McCoist says Arsenal player looked like he was ‘struggling’ during extra time vs Porto

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Ally McCoist noticed something interesting involving Declan Rice as Arsenal took on Porto.

The 61-year-old was commentating on the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash alongside Darren Fletcher for TNT Sports.

So, what did Ally McCoist notice about Arsenal No.41 Declan Rice? Let’s take a look…

Declan Rice struggled in extra time

Well, the England international is one of the fittest footballers around, playing the full 90 minutes on 26 occasions this season while managing to avoid any injuries.

However – in what was Rice’s first taste of extra time this season – McCoist felt the £105m man was struggling to keep going.

The man from Bellshill said: “Rice looked like he was struggling at the break (in extra time). I could see him getting a bit of a massage from the Arsenal guys.”

In fairness to the 25-year-old, it was a very intense game against the Portuguese giants, who made life quite difficult for the Gunners.

Porto nullified Arsenal No.41

Theo Walcott felt Porto were particularly good at stopping Rice from getting on the ball and dictating play – which was spot on.

Sergio Conceicao had clearly identified the Arsenal No.41 as a dangerous player, with Porto seemingly intent on preventing the Londoner from embarking on one of his usual trademark drives forward.

SofaScore shows that Rice completed just one dribble, and Porto clearly took him a little bit out of his comfort zone as tiredness started to creep in during extra time – he also did not make a key pass.

Nevertheless, Arsenal’s club record signing continued to push through, and was able to dispatch his penalty with unerring confidence in the shootout to send the Gunners into the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

Hopefully, the gruelling 120 minutes of action has not taken a toll on Rice, and he will be available for the crucial Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday 31st March.