- Son Heung-min gave the visitors a shock lead after 20 minutes at the Emirates
- But the Gunners responded with two goals in four minutes before the interval
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Declan Rice believes that Arsenal should have handed Tottenham a historic hiding, given the number of chances they created against their north London rivals.
Mikel Arteta‘s side were made to settle for a 2-1 win that took them to within four points of the Premier League leaders Liverpool. But, on an often nervy night at the Emirates, the result could have been secure long before Simon Hooper’s final whistle.
The Gunners past up four big chances and recorded 14 shots against Ange Postecoglou‘s side but only forced derby debutant Antonin Kinksy into a single save.
Rice revealed the feeling among the Arsenal players after the match, which could prove to be a catalyst for a title charge in the second half of the campaign.
‘Tonight meant more than anything,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘From the first minute, the first 45 was pure domination, you can tell it was a derby.
‘We are unlucky we didn’t score 10, that’s the feeling. We don’t need a message, playing Spurs, if you can’t get up for that hen you shouldn’t ne playing football. We could have had another five or six and that is a disappointing thing.’
Declan Rice feels that Arsenal should have scored far more than the two their managed against Tottenham
The Gunners came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over their north London rivals at the Emirates
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Liverpool after the result
To be fair to the Gunners, several of their missed chances were down to superb last-ditch defending from a depleted Spurs backline. Nevertheless, questions remain over the side’s strength in attack.
Raheem Sterling was given a rare start by Arteta on the right flank in place of Gabriel Martinelli but the on-loan Chelsea man did little to bolster his case for future inclusion.
Arsenal came into the tie rocked by the news that Gabriel Jesus will miss the rest of the season after sustaining an ACL injury in their FA Cup third round defeat by Manchester United.
The Brazilian become the latest attacker to go down with a long-term issue after injuries to Bukayo Saka and youngster Ethan Nwaneri.
