Declan Rice explains Arsenal belief that led to highly-charged celebrations after Man Utd win
The Mirror Declan Rice has revealed the threat of already falling out of the title race fueled Arsenal's highly-charged celebrations after their win over Manchester United.
The Gunners came agonisingly close to winning the title last season, but a draw against Fulham last week brought an end to their 100 per cent record this term. With early leaders Manchester City beating the Cottagers to go five points clear on Saturday, the pressure was on Arsenal.
It was a pressure that was released when Rice fired in in the fifth minute of injury time, with Andre Onana unable to keep out his strike at the back post. That goal unleashed wild celebrations among both Gunners players and fans, which Rice admitted were influenced by City's form.
"If I am speaking honestly, Man City have won four out of four and if we didnt win today, we are already five points behind them if we didnt win. To catch up on them is a massive margin to make," he told Sky Sports.
"We couldnt afford to have that distance after four games so it was a must win game, we said that before the game. We were knocking on the door with the corners, I had a chance in the first half.
