Declan Rice has just experienced a memorable milestone, wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in his 50th match for England. But now, his main goal is to help Arsenal overcome Man City in round 30 of the Premier League.
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According to Rice, if you want others to stop saying this and that about Arsenal, you need to go to Man City’s stadium and win. He explained: “You know what people say when Arsenal doesn’t win or is very close to glory. Like when they couldn’t get into the top 4 two years ago, or lost the championship last season.”
Last season, Arsenal led with eight points over Man City on April 1, but in the end still bitterly finished second. Rice was a witness to that collapse in a West Ham shirt, when his team drew 2-2 with Arsenal in the London derby on April 16. The disastrous match and the 3-3 result against Southampton forced Arsenal to win when they visited Etihad Stadium. There, they lost 1-4 and never recovered in the race for the championship.
Declan Rice (left) heads in Arsenal’s victory over Man City, October 8, 2023 in the Premier League. Photo: Reuters
However, Arsenal in Rice’s eyes is now a different team. They have an upgrade in him, when the contract worth 105 million pounds shows the difference and Rice is now one of the candidates for the title of best player of the season. Arsenal also has other quality additions such as David Raya or Kai Havertz. However, what impressed Rice the most was the composure of the whole team.
“This is an Arsenal that has learned lessons from last year, a group of players who are learning, maturing and becoming more experienced. The team has added many quality players over the summer and has all brought changes Big change. We are ready to change people’s opinion about Arsenal,” said the English midfielder.
“The players are all tormented by losing the championship despite leading by eight points. You don’t hear them talk much about this, but you can see the difference in mentality and spirit this season. It lies in The way everyone stays calm and calculates each game. You won’t hear us planning our allocation for City on Sunday and Luton on Wednesday. We focus on each game and do everything we can to win that match”.
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Arsenal is in good form since returning from a training trip in Dubai. In the domestic tournament, they won all eight recent matches and scored an average of four goals/match. In the Champions League, they overcame Porto and are preparing to face Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. Now, Arsenal must face a difficult challenge, when Pep Guardiola has won all eight meetings at the Etihad, including seven Premier League matches and one FA Cup match.
That’s not to mention the factor Rodri, who has never tasted defeat in Man City’s last 62 matches – a record in English football. However, the statistics ignore the fact that Rodri and Man City failed in the Community Shield penalty shootout earlier this season and only recorded it as a draw. The team that defeated City was none other than Arsenal.
Rice even likes the fact that Man City is ranked as the top: “I like to go there as the bottom and prove to everyone that we can be as strong a team as we want. The worst thing is the hype.” Too much, leads to high expectations and you don’t play as expected. I would rather people keep saying we are this and that, so the whole team comes and proves how strong they are.”
“Everything will revolve around the 11 players who come out to prove their bravery, showing that they can play at the highest level and under the greatest pressure.”
William Saliba and Arsenal players celebrate the win against Manchester City, October 8, 2023 Premier League. Photo: Reuters
When asked about Rodri – whom Rice sees as a standard number 6 – Rice showed respect: “Rodri is a monster. When talking to English players who play for Manchester City on the national team, they all said that the difference can be clearly felt when Rodri is absent. You can completely see it with the naked eye. I am his fan, because of the way he came and integrated, exploded in the Premier League. This will It was a very good fight and I believe both sides respected each other.”
According to Rice, the importance of the match against Man City can be seen through more thorough preparation for the match, more tactical requirements… when Guardiola and Arteta have a good relationship and understand each other very well. . He also expressed optimism: “Listen, if we win this season… I don’t want to say too far in advance, but if that happens, we want to enjoy it. This season is really long and tiring”.
