Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are stepping up for Arsenal when it counts
Mikel Arteta rotated some of his team for Saturday's game at Bournemouth – but it was two of his main men who made the difference
If Arsenal are going to fend off Manchester City and Aston Villa and end a more than two-decade wait to win the Premier League again, then they are going to need their biggest players to step up in the most important moments.
And that is exactly what they did away to Bournemouth on Saturday, where they came from behind to extend their lead to six points at the top of the table, after a first-half strike from Gabriel and two second-half goals by Declan Rice.
Martin Odegaard also chipped in with an assist, marking the first time he has created goals in consecutive top-flight games since the closing weeks of last season. The Norwegian is hitting his creative stride at exactly the right time.
When Mikel Arteta needed his leaders on the pitch to step up to overcome Bournemouth 3-2, they did not let him down.
“I really love today the next step of the team, in terms of individual personality and presence,” manager Arteta said of his team’s performance.
“I think what Gabi Magalhaes has done after making a big mistake to concede the goal, the way he reacted to that, the way he played afterwards, the way he transmitted energy after that, it was remarkable.
“And Declan, another one. Every hour for him was important to be able to be available today (as he overcame a knee problem that kept him out of Tuesday’s victory over Aston Villa). We didn’t know for how long (Rice would be able to play), so in the manner that he competed, played, and on top of that scored two goals, I think it was outstanding, and a really big message for the team.”
Rice registered multiple goals in a Premier League game for the first time in his career (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Even though Rice missed that 4-1 defeat of Villa, he didn’t miss a beat on the south coast and was at the heart of everything Arsenal did well. Remarkably, it was the first time he has scored twice in a Premier League match.
The England international midfielder sealed his standout performance by planting a kiss on a pitchside TV camera’s lens after scoring his second goal, in a similar fashion to former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2009 and 2014.
“Declan is constantly adding things to his game, he’s constantly adding things to his role in the team,” Arteta said. “I don’t see where he can stop, because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve. He’s such a pivotal player for us.
“He was so disappointed not to play against Villa. He really wanted it. He tried in the morning, (but) he was nowhere near a possibility. He wanted to train the next day, it wasn’t a possibility. Until the last minute (before Saturday’s match), I asked him, ‘How are you feeling?’ He said, ‘I’m in’.
