Victory at the Emirates will have given Mikel Arteta satisfaction as games like this slipped away from Arsenal late last season
Perhaps the best part of Declan Rice’s day, his first big Emirates Stadium afternoon, was the fact that for the opening 95 minutes of this tight, taut, occasionally turgid game, Arsenal didn’t play that well.
Rice didn’t play that well, not really, by his best, most regal, long‑striding – sports writers do love a stride – midfield standards. Instead, he was tethered for long periods, ratting in the deep spaces, fighting to cover a position‑and‑a‑half in midfield, where Kai Havertz was again a spectral entity, only partially present in the material world.
Written by Barney Ronay at the Emirates Stadium
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/03/arsenal-declan-rice-manchester-united-mikel-arteta under the title “Arsenal burgle a personality win as Declan Rice shows why he was bought | Barney Ronay”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
