Fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Arsenal star Declan Rice‘s inclusion in the starting lineup for their UEFA Champions League clash against Slavia Praha.

Arsenal go into the away game against the Czech side full of confidence after their gritty win over Liverpool last weekend. Mikel Arteta‘s men became the first Gunners team to win at Anfield in 14 years.

Their opponents, Slavia Praha, are unbeaten in five, with their last loss coming in the UEFA Champions League against debutants Sabah. The Czech side are 32nd in the UCL league phase table and have collected only one point in their three games so far.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are currently 9th, having won two and drawn one of their 3 league fixtures so far. The Gunners’ previous UCL game was a 2-2 draw away from home at Bayern Munich.

David Raya starts in goal, with Ben White and Piero Hincapie playing as the full-backs. Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes are the centre-backs. Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi make up the midfield three. Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres make up the front three for the Gunners.

Fans are questioning Arteta’s decision to play Declan Rice for the clash against Praha. The fans insist the English midfielder hasn’t had enough rest this season and should’ve been left on the bench for the clash against the Czech side. Some of the reactions are as follows:

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on opponents Slavia Praha ahead of UCL league phase clash

Mikel Arteta’s men took on Slavia Praha last season as well. They came out 3-0 victors after Bukayo Saka scored from the penalty spot and Mikel Merino scored a brace. Speaking ahead of this season’s fixture, Arteta highlighted the difficulty his team had when facing the Czech side last season. Speaking to the media before the game (via the club’s official website), he said the game last season was tough despite the result.

“I watched it back twice – it was tough because it’s a really good team that are extremely well coached. Obviously they’ve been almost 10 years together now, and are a really, really competitive team, with a great mindset, some clear principles and concepts that they want to apply and the way they navigate you through the game. So, we know it’s going to be a really difficult game.”