Declan Rice came on as a substitute with 15 minutes left in Arsenal’s tense 2-1 win over Chelsea, with David Raya making a fine late save to ensure they retained all three points.
Declan Rice sent off during Arsenal’s win over Chelsea (Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta has admitted Arsenal had to survive a heart-stopping moment before taking an “incredible” step towards winning the title. Arteta praised keeper David Raya for his incredible save to deny Chelsea substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s stoppage-time cross from going into the far corner.
It was the final moment of drama in a hard-fought London derby, in which Arsenal defeated 10-man Chelsea and regained a five-point lead over leaders Manchester City.
Gunners manager Arteta said: “He made a save in the last action. It was a cross, it wasn’t a shot, but in the end he hit an unbelievable shot and got the angle right and my heart almost stopped, but David’s hands were there and it gave me life again.”
“David is definitely one of our leaders, a keeper who knows how to stay focused and decide the game of football when he needs to. Because sometimes he doesn’t participate at all, but then he has to be there for one action, which is very, very difficult.”
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“We’re trying to stay calm, but obviously against 10 guys we didn’t get the edge or the sequence of plays that we wanted and expected. So we’ve got to get through that and that’s a big part of the game. When you see the guys and other teams winning games, we’re all struggling, but the margins are very small, so that’s a good thing.”
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has requested substitution and is an injury doubt for the next game against Brighton. “We need him to get tested and see if he can play on Wednesday,” Arteta added.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior was furious after Pedro Neto was sent off for two yellow cards with four minutes remaining, leaving his side with 10 men. Neto reprimanded officials as he left the pitch and could face further action amid claims he was unaware he had been shown the first yellow card for protesting Arsenal’s winning goal.
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Arsenal’s hero was David Raya (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Incredibly, this was Chelsea’s ninth red card of the season, and after the game Rosenior was furious that the lack of discipline had cost the team. “I think as a group and as well as myself as a leader, we need to take more responsibility in our decision-making in terms of discipline and in terms of decision-making in terms of the goals we conceded today as well as the moments of goals,” Rosenior said.
“Some of it is unacceptable at this level. You can fine players, but it’s a matter of focus and concentration that we need to get right. We know from the beginning of the season that the club’s results have not been good, but now they are getting worse.”
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