Declan rice honoured as arsenal ace only premier league star in europe's elite

DECLAN RICE IMPRESSED DURING ARSENAL'S RUN TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS AND UEFA HAVE RECOGNISED THE ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL'S STRING OF ALL-ACTION PERFORMANCES 19:33, 01 Jun

2025 Arsenal star Declan Rice is the only Premier League player to earn a spot in UEFA's official Champions League Team of the Season. Rice, 26, powered the Gunners through to the

semi-finals where they lost out to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. His memorable brace against holders Real Madrid in the last eight, both sweetly-struck free-kicks, helped Arsenal

achieve their most famous result at the Emirates Stadium to date and he was just as vital in the second leg. Although Mikel Arteta's side couldn't reach a first final in 20 years,

Rice's efforts have been commended. UEFA have named Rice as part of a star-studded XI which is dominated by PSG following their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the final on Saturday in

Munich. Starting at the back, Gianluigi Donnarumma has been recognised as the competition's best goalkeeper. PSG boast three of the four defenders, as Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos and Nuno

Mendes are joined by Inter's Alessandro Bastoni. In midfield, Vitinha partners Rice, the sole representative from the English top-flight. That's despite Liverpool finishing top of

the league phase, Manchester City reaching the knockouts and Aston Villa making it all the way to the quarter-finals. UEFA have gone with four attackers, two from PSG and two from the other

losing semi-finalist, Barcelona. Lamine Yamal, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha have fended off strong competition from the likes of Serhou Guirassy, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski

and Lautaro Martinez. READ MORE: 'F***ing hell Rio!' Laura Woods turns air blue in unseen TNT Sports footageREAD MORE: England stars soak up sun at F1 Spanish GP ahead of Andorra

World Cup qualifier As for the individual awards, Dembele was named Player of the Season while the Young Player award went to PSG team-mate Doue. Yamal won Goal of the Season for his

incredible strike in Barca's 3-3 first-leg draw at home to Inter. Article continues below Rice's second free-kick goal against Real came third. All of the awards and the XI were

chosen by the selected by the UEFA Technical Observer Group. Saturday's final saw PSG crowned champions of Europe for the first time. The competition's new format has been hailed

as a success, with the new league stage and the addition of a play-off round seeing more drama than ever after a record 189 fixtures from September to May. WHO MAKES YOUR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

TEAM OF THE SEASON? GIVE US YOUR XI IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. "This season, the UEFA Champions League has embraced a new format, injecting fresh excitement and a higher level of

competition," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said. "It has allowed more teams than ever to challenge for glory in the world's most prestigious club competition and offered

great thrills, excitement and the best football to billions of fans across the globe. "The tremendous success of these reforms, made in a spirit of respect and understanding of all

European football stakeholders – the clubs, the leagues and national associations – proves that the game can evolve to another level only by upholding the core values of open competition,

sporting merit and solidarity. And when football thrives, everybody benefits." Article continues below UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE SEASON 2024-25 (4-2-4) GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA;

ACHRAF HAKIMI, MARQUINHOS, ALESSANDRO BASTONI, NUNO MENDES; VITINHA, DECLAN RICE; LAMINE YAMAL, DESIRE DOUE, OUSMANE DEMBELE, RAPHINHA _Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily

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