Rice was the star of the show as Arsenal knocked out Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League earlier this month and now he will be hoping to replicate that performance against the Ligue 1 champions who knocked out Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the last round.
Rice is now looking to fire Arsenal to a first Champions League final since 2006 and Gunners legend and club ambassador Gilberto is confident Rice will perform in Tuesday night’s game.
"Declan is so stable. He was great for West Ham," the Brazil 2002 World Cup winner and Striver co-founder told Mirror Football. "This is why we asked to look at him and brought him to the team, expecting him to provide these games.
"I can see an improvement in every game. When he raises his standard, he can be stable from one game to another. I believe this is a massive weapon for Arsenal because Arsenal can be dominant in the midfield with him, Thomas Partey, or anybody else he plays alongside to win the battles."
With Partey suspended for the clash, Rice will have to step up for manager Mikel Arteta against the likes of Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, and Joao Neves. Gilberto says Rice has the most important job on the pitch, which affects both the defense and attack and admits that his physical aspects have helped him perform.
"This is a very important sector of the pitch to get the right stability to support the guys up front. Like Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard," Gilberto added. "But then, to protect the back four or back three, it doesn't matter how they play in the back. And he has been so important at that, and many, many times, getting to the box. But when he has to defend, he has been so important. His physical presence has been massive for the team."
Rice scooped back-to-back Player of the Match awards in the last round and could help make history against PSG at the Emirates Stadium. Gilberto admitted that Arteta’s side must unite and form a stronger bond in what has been an injury-filled season.
"I think it will be a massive miss for Arsenal. I hope that they find the balance to cope without him," Gilberto said.
"In this particular moment, when you get into this stage, everyone needs to be united and together when you don't have everyone available, when you have somebody suspended, like Arsenal at the moment."