Declan Rice reveals what Mikel Arteta privately told the Arsenal squad in ‘very rare’ situation

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Arsenal head into their Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven decimated by absences to key personnel.

Arsenal’s injury crisis this season means that the Gunners head into the crucial first leg with just Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri as recognised forward players.

Mikel Merino continues as an auxiliary striker for Mikel Arteta’s side as they know that a professional performance is needed – PSV have embarrassed Arsenal before at this stage.

Ivan Perisic aimed a dig at Arsenal pre-match and the Gunners will know that they need to ensure they come away with something from the game before the return leg at the Emirates Stadium.

READ MORE: Raheem Sterling faces Champions League ban as Arsenal star walks suspension tightrope before PSV clash

Declan Rice reveals what Mikel Arteta has told the Arsenal squad

Speaking to Amazon Prime’s pre-match coverage of Arsenal’s trip to PSV Eindhoven, midfielder Declan Rice has revealed how Arteta has been preparing the squad for a ‘very rare’ situation.

Rice explained: “I think it’s a conversation me and the manager had the other day. He was saying, not just me but the whole squad is going to have to be used in different ways.

“It’s very rare what’s happened to our whole front three completely gone but we train in a way where we train with different players in different units all the time and we’re adapting to it in different ways.”

Riccardo Calafiori ‘baffled’ fans in Arsenal’s previous Premier League encounter with Nottingham Forest by occupying a variety of positions on the pitch and it seems supporters can expect something similar at the Philips Stadion.

Arteta believes Arsenal have been more ‘consistent’ in Europe this season

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Arteta has explained that he believes his Arsenal side have learned a lot about themselves and been more ‘consistent’ in this season’s Champions League campaign.

Arteta stated: “Especially about ourselves, we have played very differently home and away in the last year, especially in Europe. We have been much more consistent, we have scored a lot of goals, we have conceded hardly anything.”

The Gunners will need to be wary of the threat in attack from PSV, experienced striker Luuk De Jong has scored against Arsenal in a previous Europa League encounter.

Arsenal have been interested in Noa Lang in the past and the winger starts for the Dutch side looking to make an impact in the tie.