Declan Rice has insisted Arsenal are ready to grind out more hard-fought wins because it is the mark of champions. The Gunners midfielder revealed Mikel Arteta has been “drilling” into the squad the importance of battling victories to ensure they retain their Premier League title.
Arsenal won their first Premier League game at Liverpool in 14 years to go clear at the top, but it was a gritty and defiant performance that is unlikely to win over the critics. Rice says winning at Anfield, with another 1-0 to the Arsenal, underlines the determination within the squad to retain their title this season. It is now eight wins out of nine and six clean sheets in the Premier League.
What the manager has built
When asked whether beating Liverpool was a performance of champions, Rice said: “For sure, it’s just drilled into us. What this manager has built at this club and the togetherness of the lads – you don’t get that performance without the lads being altogether.
“The way the manager has everything under control, the way everyone works towards everything he wants is not like anything I’ve ever seen before so credit to us for what we have been doing for the last few years.
“Now it’s a massive thing to deliver again this year and keep pushing. We’ve set those demands on ourselves and it’s up to us to keep delivering that and this adds towards that. Really good, really happy. First win here in 14 years so that’s what the manager has been drilling into us all week so to come here and deliver we’re really happy.”
Resilience at Anfield
Rice acknowledged the difficulty of the fixture, saying: “Yeah, I think any team who has won here in the past has never had it easy, it’s always going to be tough coming to Anfield so we had to dig in, we had to give it everything because they throw so many attacks at you. We had to be resilient and strong. It was a great win and in the end we’re really happy and now we go onto Wednesday in the Champions League as that’s another massive one.”
There was a big debate over whether Arsenal should have won with more flair at Nottingham Forest last month, while winning at Liverpool is surely a tougher task. But Rice says every game is a challenge and insists the win at Liverpool was a statement, as he believes Andoni Iraola is building a team to be reckoned with.
Every game is different
Rice added: “What I’ve learned in this league is that every game is different, no game is plain sailing it is always going to be tough. Looking back at that Forest game, it wasn’t the best performance but we ground it out and we won and there’s going to be more of that this season. But results like this just make it that extra bit special so we are delighted.
“Look at Liverpool. They have secretly gone under the radar, their attack is incredible, the defence is really good, Man City have started really strong, Chelsea are there or thereabouts so I’ve learned in this league November means nothing.
“You just have to win as much as you can and in February or March if you are there or thereabouts you are in with a chance. So just keep winning and take each game as it comes and see where it takes us.”
