“We could have scored 10 points”
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice says his side could have scored ten goals against Tottenham in the north London derby.
The Gunners emerged 2-1 winners thanks to an own goal from Dominic Solanke and a strike from Leandro Trossard.
That moves Mikel Arteta’s side into second place, four points behind Liverpool, who still have a game in hand at the top of the Premier League table.
After the game, Rice said, “You can tell tonight meant more than anything. From the first minute, the first half was pure dominance. We showed the intention, the pressure, the desire, you could see it was a derby. I think we were probably unlucky not to score 10 points tonight. That’s the feeling.
“You don’t need a message. When you play against Spurs you know what it means for the fans. If you can’t play for Spurs as a player, you shouldn’t be playing football. You have to have that fire in your belly.
“The game dragged on in the second half. They might have scored a few goals, but we could have scored five or six more goals – that’s the disappointing thing.
“The three points are the most important thing. Hopefully we can get started now because this is the most important part of the season.”
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“We’re unlucky that we probably didn’t score 10 points tonight.”
Declan Rice reflects on Arsenal’s North London derby win 👀
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Despite Rice’s comments, Arsenal only managed an xG of 1.64, suggesting they were sober rather than wasteful in front of goal.
But they still got the three points and Arteta was a happy man in his post-match interview.
He added: “Excellent today. From the first minute we were really into it, really intense. We played with the real intention of hurting them. We created an incredible atmosphere.
“We know how important the game is. It is a gift with which we can make our supporters very happy.
“The attitude we played with, without feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes three days ago.
“We had some big chances and big situations. In the end we had to suffer more than we would have liked.
“When you have opportunities (to close the gap), you have to take them. We are on a really consistent path in the Premier League. It’s about recovery tomorrow and Aston Villa on Saturday, it goes on and on.”
