Declan Rice 'needs to have game of his life' for Arsenal to beat Paris Saint-Germain in UEFA Champions League final - Martin Keown

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Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes their UEFA Champions League final hopes could hinge on the performance of Declan Rice.

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The midfielder has been an influential figure throughout a season that could culminate in a historic Premier League and Champions League double.

Rice will be up against another of Europe's elite midfielders in Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha on Saturday and Keown highlighted the significance of their duel.

"That midfield battle is obviously key," he told TNT Sports. "Vitinha, getting on the ball deep, how are Arsenal going to press? I think they will press but at other times they'll sit deep.

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"Declan sitting at the foot of midfield will give us a platform. He's been brilliant. He probably needs to have the game of his life for Arsenal to win this thing."

Arsenal will have truly earned their plaudits if they get the better of PSG, though there has not necessarily been universal adoration following their Premier League success.

"It was interesting right from the start, I think we were four games in and we lost at Anfield and people were saying it's theirs to lose," Keown said of the team's critics.

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"That was quite harsh. Arsenal were playing good football at that point but they changed their game, they adapted, that's been really clever from the manager.

"The set-pieces require an awful lot of work; the skill involved in that and the movement and organisation. It seems like it's been used to take something away from this group, so I'm really pleased they've overcome all of that.

"I've always seen Arteta as the right man for the job. Good people now around the place, the players are really together.

"Forget that noise and I think that quietens down a little bit now. Maybe the genie's out of the bottle now and people realise how big Arsenal could be.

"I don't think we should get carried away but there's a platform now for Arsenal to be regularly going to these massive games, Champions League finals. PSG are here for two years on the trot. I think it's in Arsenal's grasp if they do things right financially.

"It's very different to the last Champions League when it seemed to be the end of an era for Wenger. He did another 10 years but he didn't have the financial support this group are going to have."

Arsenal's success has been built on solid defensive foundations; David Raya has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League and Champions League this season.

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And Keown, a dominant centre-back during his time at Arsenal, hailed the organisation of Mikel Arteta's side.

"It's a collective, they press together as a team and everyone has a specific role," Keown said. "When they're deep it's like the Thames Barrier, the way they sit on the edge of the box, get everybody back into position.

"This is the second final of the season now, and I think that League Cup final would've been interesting for the players. I think [Manchester City] outdid us a bit tactically. I don't see that happening now.

"It was a good step up for this in terms of being in a final because there's a different way to play a final."

Many comparisons have been made between Arsenal's current iteration and the great Invincibles team of two decades ago.

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But Keown, who played 10 times in the unbeaten Premier League campaign of 2003/04, insisted Arteta's team will surpass Arsene Wenger's best if they win in Budapest.

"It's the biggest achievement that Arsenal have ever accomplished," he said. "It has to put them as number one.

"The optics might say something different about some of the other teams, but this is the group that represents us as former players, and these moments don't come around very often.

"It's 20 years ago now that we were in a similar situation but the club is in a very different place now. That felt like it was the end of a journey whereas this is the beginning of a journey.

"Being an Invincible was a consolation for not winning the Champions League and the FA Cup that season. We could've won three trophies there and it slipped through our fingers. This group now would go one step further.

"To win a Champions League is the biggest achievement ever."

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