Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice admitted his side’s season was dealt “a kick in the teeth” before their 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb. It was Rice who got the ball rolling at the Emirates, hammering home just two minutes in to put his side ahead.
He later headed wide from point-blank range, but by that point Kai Havertz had made it 2-0 before Martin Odegaard tapped in deep into injury time.
The result all but sealed Arsenal’s place in the last 16 of the competition, and was the ideal response to them letting a 2-0 lead slip against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Gunners have now won just three out of seven league and cup games this month, and Rice was asked by TNT Sports if their latest victory could now be the springboard for them to push on. “I hope so,” he replied.
“What I learnt from last year is that you need to be there or thereabouts at this time of the season and we are at the minute. Look, we need to keep winning games.
“I think the game at the weekend, 2-0 up, we drew 2-2 it’s a real kick in the teeth, we should be seeing it out but to bounce back tonight and win – and now we go into Wolves. It’s been a tough month but keep being positive and we go again.”
In the Premier League, Arsenal now lie six points off Liverpool having played a game more, with their title hopes having been plagued by their apparent failure to a kill off games.
-It’s led to question marks over Mikel Arteta’s decision not to sign a striker in the summer, bur Rice insisted it isn’t just down to the forwards to contribute goals.
“I think the manager has been on us really hard about midfielders arriving because so many goals can come from there,” he said. “It’s down to us to make up that extra five, 10 yards. Martin obviously did there at the end, I did for the header, so we’ve got to keep arriving there.”
The early strike was Rice’s first in the Champions League, and it’s helped take the Gunners third in the overall table. And barring an unlikely set of results next week, the north London side can skip a two-legged play-off in February for teams finishing between ninth and 24th.
Their final league phase game is away at Girona next Wednesday. And the 26-year-old insisted the squad would be going to Spain to take all three points.
“Look it was an important win tonight,” he said. “It’s been a very positive Champions League campaign, so we’ve got one more to go now, hopefully we can win that as well.”
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