“We could have scored 10”

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice says his side could have scored 10 goals against Tottenham in the north London derby.

The Gunners ran out 2-1 winners thanks to an own goal from Dominic Solanke and a strike from Leandro Trossard.

Mikel Arteta’s men are back in second place, four points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand at the top of the Premier League table.

Speaking after the game, Rice said: “You can say that tonight meant more than anything. From the first minute, the first half was pure dominance. We showed the intention, the pressure, the desire, you can see it was a derby. I think we probably had unlucky not to score 10 tonight.That’s the feeling.

“You don’t need a message. When you play for Spurs, you know what it means to the fans. As a player, if you can’t stand up for Spurs, you shouldn’t be playing football. You need to have that fire in your belly.

“In the second half the game dragged on. Maybe they could have scored a couple, but we could have got five or six more, that’s the disappointing thing.

“The three points are the most important thing. Hopefully we can run now because this is the most important part of the season.”
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“We’re unlucky not to have scored 10 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 more clinical than wasteful in front of goal.

But they still took the three points and Arteta was a happy man in his post-match interview.

He added: “Outstanding today. From the first minute we were very, very intense. We played with a real purpose to hurt them. We created an incredible atmosphere.

“We know how important the game is. It’s a gift we can give our fans very happily.

“The attitude we played with, not feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes three days ago.

“We had great opportunities and great situations. In the end we had to suffer more than we wanted.

“When you have opportunities (to close the gap) you have to take them. We are on a very steady run in the Premier League. It’s about recovery tomorrow and Aston Villa on Saturday, go and go.”