Declan Rice was clearly pleased after assisting Arsenal to a crucial 3-1 victory against Manchester United on Sunday (3 September).
Marcus Rashford scored in the 27th minute, and Martin Odegaard equalized a minute later. Both sides had opportunities to score the second goal, but it seemed like the game would end in a 1-1 tie.
At the hour mark, Kai Havertz felt he had earned a penalty, but VAR determined that he had dived and there was no contact from Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Alejandro Garnacho spun away in the 89th minute to celebrate what he believed was the game-winning goal.
However, after a VAR review, the Argentine winger’s goal was ruled out for offside by the tiniest of margins. Rice was in the right position at the right time in the sixth minute of stoppage time to slam home Arsenal’s second goal, which came from a Bukayo Saka corner.
Gabriel Jesus then added salt to Manchester United’s wounds by scoring on the counter-attack only seconds before the final whistle. Rice told Sky Sports (via BBC) after the game:
Football is played on razor-thin margins. We break out to the other end, where I score, and there Jesus Gabi [seals] the deal. The difference is in the details, and in the end, we provide the goods.
Rice already sees Arsenal as a championship contender against Manchester City. He went on to say:
“If we’re being honest, I think Man City has won four out of four.” We would have been five points behind if we hadn’t won tonight. Today’s game was a must-win.”
Manchester City leads the standings after four victories in four games. The Gunners are presently sixth, two points behind them.