Declan Rice sends message to Man City ahead of ‘title decider’ against Arsenal
Declan Rice has told Manchester City that Arsenal will be ‘ready’ for this weekend’s huge Premier League clash and insists the Gunners will go out to win at the Etihad Stadium.
Mikel Arteta takes his Arsenal team to Man City on Sunday boasting a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Gunners missed the chance to move 12 points clear at the weekend as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.
Arsenal then saw title rivals Manchester City close the gap at the top of the table to six points with an emphatic 3-0 win at Chelsea.
Given the situation at the top of the Premier League, Sunday’s game has been described as a ‘title decider’ by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney.
It has been suggested that a point at the Etihad would be sufficient for Arsenal to get over the line and secure a first Premier League title since 2004, but Rice insists they are only thinking about the three points.
Asked whether Arsenal ‘had to win’ their huge clash against title rivals Man City, Rice told TNT Sports: ‘Yeah, of course, you have to win every game, we want to win every game.
‘Our record has been amazing this season and these type of games… it’s why we play the game.
‘We’ll be ready for it, we’ll be ready to go. How much do you want it, you know? I know I’ll be ready and the boys will be ready, so let’s go.’
Rice was speaking after Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a narrow 1-0 win over Sporting.
Kai Havertz scored an injury-time winner out in Lisbon last week and the return leg at the Emirates Stadium ended goalless.
Rice added: ‘I’m delighted. I’m so, so happy. We now want to go one step forward than last season and get to the final.’
‘Frustrating? No…we’ve just got to another semi-final. Who cares what people think.’
Analysing Arsenal’s performance against Portuguese champions Sporting, Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘We know what is going to happen, we know what the narrative is going to be.
‘A lot of people will rip Arsenal to shreds with the way they attacked or, should I say, didn’t attack.
‘Towards the end of the game, it is about seeing it through – the objective tonight was going through and finding a way.
‘It wasn’t perfect by any means, but defensively they do a lot right. It has been a struggle for a while and things do need to change…’
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