Declan Rice has come under fire from fans after helping Arsenal reach the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Gunners reached the last four after a goalless draw with Sporting at the Emirates Stadium, having won the first leg 1-0 in Portugal.
Though the match failed to produce any fireworks, Arsenal had to dig deep to prevail with Sporting ultimately coming up short.
There was a mixed reaction at the final whistle, with some supporters jubilant while others were left unhappy with their flat performance on the night.
Certainly, Arsenal will need to up the ante in the next round, with the north London giants due to lock horns with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid.
At the full-time whistle, Rice appeared exhausted. The former West Ham midfielder, who played the full 90 minutes despite battling illness, looked somewhat dejected as the cameras panned in on him.
But some Arsenal fans have criticised the England international, suggesting he should have been far happier.
"Into the the CL semis and that’s he’s (sic) reaction and I’m fully with him this football will not win s**t," said one user.
A second said: "If he feels devastated, he is part of it. Only good defensively, no assists or take ons from open play."
Another wrote: "I don't know for sure what this is but it ain't a positive emotional experience I can say that."
A fourth opined: "Do you think he sometimes wishes he went to the other team? Genuinely curious."
And a fifth said: "He’s part of the s**t football. Just running around won’t help us play good football. How about some passing?"
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Others, however, jumped to Rice's defence.
"BECAUSE HE IS ILL AND WAS EXHAUSTED. As an Arsenal fan you should be ashamed of spreading this propaganda for a few impressions," rallied one user.
A second said: "Bro I honestly think he’s just shattered beyond belief."
And a third defended Rice by saying: "He's injured, he's playing with pain and it's clear."t 4 paragraphs
Meanwhile, speaking after the fixture in the capital, Rice expressed his delight and defended Arsenal over their controversial style of play.
“Delighted, so, so happy. It was a really tough test over two games but to go back-to-back semi-finals is an amazing achievement for this group and we want to now go one step further than last year and get to the final," he said.
“We’ve played Atletico already this year, it was a really good game and we know what to expect so bring on these last couple of weeks.”
When asked if there was any frustration, he added: “Frustrating? Nah, we’ve just got to a semi-final.
“No frustration, positivity all the way.
“Who cares what people think? All that matters is what this group thinks, what the manager thinks and we’re in another semi-final. I’m delighted.
“You want to be able to score goals. Most teams that come here, we play against 5-4-1 every time so there’s a bit of perspective with that.
"Every time we’ve played this season changes from a four to a five to defend against us so the spaces aren’t there as much.
“It’s on us to find ways to score and break it down but we’re playing against top players every week. We’ll keep going, keep playing well, keep getting over the line. Bring it on.”
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