Arsenal midfielder Rice: I told Mbappe it was no pen

The Gunners won 2-1 on Wednesday night to reach the Champions League semifinals 5-1 on aggregate.

During the game, Rice was ruled to have given away a penalty with a foul on Kylian Mbappe. But it was eventually overturned by VAR.

"I knew it wasn't a penalty," said Rice.

"I had my arm on him but you have to do that in the box. I'm an honest guy, I said to him (Mbappe)  it's not a pen, I would admit it if I pulled him down. He fell to the floor and I was confident it would get overturned."

The VAR call had a double boost for Rice as the yellow card he was shown for the foul was also rescinded, so seeing the midfielder avoid suspension for the semifinal.