03 September 2023 , 23:00
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Declan Rice has revealed the threat of already falling out of the title race fueled Arsenal's highly-charged celebrations after their win over Manchester United.
The Gunners came agonisingly close to winning the title last season, but a draw against Fulham last week brought an end to their 100 per cent record this term. With early leaders Manchester City beating the Cottagers to go five points clear on Saturday, the pressure was on Arsenal.
It was a pressure that was released when Rice fired in in the fifth minute of injury time, with Andre Onana unable to keep out his strike at the back post. That goal unleashed wild celebrations among both Gunners players and fans, which Rice admitted were influenced by City's form.
"If I am speaking honestly, Man City have won four out of four and if we didn’t win today, we are already five points behind them if we didn’t win. To catch up on them is a massive margin to make," he told Sky Sports.
"We couldn’t afford to have that distance after four games so it was a must win game, we said that before the game. We were knocking on the door with the corners, I had a chance in the first half.
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"I thought we were a constant threat, and then the one I scored I stayed back and thought I controlled it with my chin at first, but if you don’t shoot you don’t score and it was such a special moment.
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Declan Rice's injury-time goal led to wild celebrations for Arsenal (AFP via Getty Images)"Arsenal is a massive club so of course you are going to feel the pressure, there is always going to be talk around me, but I just try to put in performances. This is my fifth season in the Premier League now, I feel more established every time I play."
Before Rice's goal, Alejandro Garnacho had a strike ruled out for offside by VAR. And Rice insisted that the warning from that near-miss spurred the Gunners on to claim all three points late on. Gabriel Jesus raced clear to wrap up the win in the 100th minute.
"It’s the fine margins in football. I thought in the second half we were sloppy at times and we gave the ball away and they caught us on the counter and we did not learn from that. And, at the end it could have easily been a goal," he said.
"Then we go up the other end, I score and then Gabby (Jesus) seals it. When the quality on show in these games is that high, these fine margins make the results and in the end we came through with the result.
"I think as an outsider looking in and watching Manchester United vs Arsenal over the years, you understand the heritage and understand the game, the big players that have played in this game and what it means to the fans.
"I was really focused before the game, I knew what today meant and wanted to give it my all. It’s good to hear the fans. I appreciate all the love they have shown me so far, it’s been incredible."