Declan Rice said Arsenal were unlucky not to score 10 goals against Tottenham in their north London derby win at the Emirates Stadium.
A 44th-minute goal from Leandro Trossard proved the winner as the Gunners beat Spurs 2-1 on Wednesday to move four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
A Dominic Solanke own goal had sparked Arsenal's comeback after Spurs captain Son Heung-min opened the scoring against the run of play in the 25th minute.
“You can see it meant more than anything. From the first minute. The first half was pure domination. We showed the intention, the pressure, the desire, you could tell it was a derby,” midfielder Rice said after ending to TNT Sports. game.
“I think we were probably unlucky not to score ten tonight. That's the feeling.”
Rice forced a save from Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the 73rd minute, while Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Trossard also missed opportunities to increase the home side's advantage.
Tottenham, meanwhile, hit the woodwork through Pedro Porro in second-half stoppage time.
Mikel Arteta's men finished the match with an expected goals total (xG) of 1.42 from 14 attempts, of which only four were on target.
Spurs, on the other hand, had two of their ten attempts on target and generated an xG of 0.83, extending their winless run to five league games.
This ALWAYS means more. pic.twitter.com/bXqnciHfM8
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 15, 2025
“When you play against Spurs you know what it means to the fans. If you can't stand up for Spurs as a player then you shouldn't be playing football. You have to have that fire in your belly,” Rice said. .
It was Arsenal's fifth doubles match against their London rivals during the Premier League era, having also beaten them 1–0 in the reverse fixture in September.
“The three points are the most important thing. Hopefully we can start running now because this is the most important part of the season,” the 26-year-old added.
The result puts pressure on leaders Liverpool, who dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, but have a game in hand against the Gunners.
“We were excellent. From the first minute we were really at it, very intense. We played with the real intention of hurting them. We created an incredible atmosphere,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told BBC Sport.
'If you have chances [to close the gap] you have to take them. We are operating in a very consistent way in the Premier League.”
Arteta's team, which has been unbeaten in the top flight for eleven games, now hosts Aston Villa on Saturday.
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