Rice: Standing in for Wenger was strange and stressful

Arsene Wenger saw Champions League victory snatched from Arsenal's grasp last night.

Borussia Dortmund substitute Ivan Perisic smashed home a dramatic last gasp volley to cancel out van Persie's first half opener.

It left Arsenal assistant boss Pat Rice - in charge because of Arsene Wenger's touchline ban - admitting he could not take the stress on a regular basis.

Wenger was caught on TV pumping his fist in delight at the final whistle but Rice wished the Arsenal boss had been on the touchline.

"It was extremely strange not to have the manager with me," said Rice. "He is normally shouting in my ear.

"It was a strange decision for him not to be on contact. Did I like it? No.

"It has never been one of my ambitions to be manager of a football club. Very strange. Too stressful for me."

Arsenal had to survive a first half onslaught before digging out a precious point against the German champions.

Rice paid tribute to his players and, in particular van Persie, for his goal and showing a captain's qualities by going over to the bench to try and change tactics in the first half.

Rice added: "We battled really hard and we knew it would be hard game. To be able to defend well is a high quality skill and that is something we did this evening. I don’t think many teams will beat Dortmund.

"It was nothing unusual to see Robin do that and score. It was a great run by Robin and a terrific ball through. It was unusual to see Robin hit it with his right foot but it proves he is not a one-foot footballer.

"Robin is the club captain and we encouraged him to be verbal on the park and off it. He was asking me one or two things about what we could so better and I was saying one or two things which could make the team better."

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp admitted Sebastian Kehl made a mistake on Arsenal's opener.

Klopp added: "Yes, s**t happens, it can happen but I am generally very happy with the performance."