Declan Rice is loving every nerve-shredding second of it. After teeing up the goal that ended Arsenal‘s 14-year Anfield nightmare, the England midfielder told BBC Sport’s Kelly Cates, Danny Murphy and Micah Richards that he is “relishing” the anxiety of a Premier League title race.
Declan Rice (Credits: BBC Sport)
Declan Rice Assist Seals Arsenal’s First Anfield Win Since 2012
Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Liverpool on November 1 was decided in the 16th minute — and Rice was at the heart of it. When Alisson Becker‘s sloppy pass out from the back was intercepted by Martin Odegaard, Rice made a lung-busting overlap down the right and threaded a perfect low cross across the face of goal for Kai Havertz to tap home at the far post.
The goal made Havertz the all-time leading German scorer in Premier League history with 46 goals, passing Ilkay Gundogan — and it ended Arsenal’s league drought at Anfield stretching back to September 2012, when current boss Mikel Arteta was still pulling the strings in midfield.
Rice Relishing Title Race Anxiety as Arsenal Go Three Points Clear
From there it was a defensive masterclass: Liverpool managed 17 shots without a single one on target — an Anfield home league blank without precedent in the recorded stats era. Florian Wirtz struck the crossbar with a free kick and Alexis Mac Allister headed over, but David Raya had just one save to make as Arsenal kept their sixth clean sheet in nine games.
The result puts the defending champions three points clear of Manchester City at the summit and nine ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool. For Rice, the pressure of the run-in is not a burden — it’s the point. As he put it while reliving the Anfield triumph: he’s relishing the title race anxiety.
Also Read: Arsenal Beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield: First Win in 14 Years Sends Gunners Three Points Clear | Andoni Iraola ‘Confused’ by Alexander Isak Penalty Snub in Liverpool’s 0-1 Arsenal Defeat
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
