'They do not care': Declan Rice points out Tottenham weakness which Arsenal exploited easily in 2-1 win
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Declan Rice helped Arsenal record a 2-1 win in the north London derby clash against Tottenham on Wednesday evening.
The England international swung in the corner – which shouldn’t have been awarded – leading to Dominic Solanke scoring an own goal, after Heung-min Son put Tottenham 1-0 up with a volleyed effort in the 25th minute.
Leandro Trossard then made it 2-1 to Arsenal in the 44th minute, and despite a number of glorious opportunities in the second half, the Gunners could not extend that lead any further, but do now sit only four points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 1 | LiverpoolLiverpool | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 48 | 20 | 28 | 47 |
| 2 | ArsenalArsenal | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 41 | 19 | 22 | 43 |
| 3 | Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 41 |
When analysing the Belgium international’s goal with TNT Sports after the game, an interesting comment was made by Declan Rice about Tottenham.
Declan Rice suggests Spurs “do not care” about game management
The Arsenal No.41 explained the tactical elements behind Trossard’s goal when speaking to Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown, Peter Crouch and Lynsey Hipgrave after full-time.
When doing so, Rice suggested Tottenham “do not care” about putting men behind the ball and attempting to weather the storm, claiming that Ange Postecoglou’s side always “want to keep attacking” – which is why the Belgian had so much space to run in behind.
The £105m man told TNT Sports: “With Spurs, you know they’re a transition team. They do not care, they keep playing the ball short, they want to keep attacking, so when we win the ball high, they’re open.”
Postecoglou has regularly been asked whether he will adapt his style to make Spurs more compact since arriving from Celtic back in June 2023 – a question the Australian often reacts quite angrily towards as he defends his attacking philosophy.
Arsenal still need more firepower
While it was impressive to see Arsenal fight from 1-0 down to beat Tottenham, a lack of quality in attack was still there for all to see.
Rice himself even added during his interview that he felt Arsenal could have scored ten, but a wastefulness in front of goal – Raheem Sterling stunned Ally McCoist with one missed opportunity – could have cost the Gunners on another day.
Arsenal admire Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao as Mikel Arteta considers attacking reinforcements – and with the transfer window open until February 3rd this season, there is still plenty of time for a signing.
