Declan Rice came on as a second-half substitute in Arsenal’s crucial 2-1 win over Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, but remains a doubt for Wednesday’s game against Brighton.
Declan Rice came on as a substitute against Chelsea (Image: David Price/Getty Images)
Declan Rice has posted a positive post on social media after being sent off in Sunday’s match between Arsenal and Chelsea, hinting that he is not injured. The Gunners defeated their London rivals 2-1 to re-establish a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, but Rice’s possible injury left a lasting impression.
Goals from corners from William Saliba and Julian Timber were enough for Arsenal to overtake Chelsea. Chelsea scored from a set-piece in their own half when Piero Hincapie headed home David Raya. Despite Pedro Neto’s red card in the 70th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men, but it was a hard-fought victory for the home side.
In the second half, Rice appeared to pull up after sprinting back to deal with a Chelsea counterattack. TV cameras showed him wincing and trying to stretch, but manager Mikel Arteta took no chances and replaced Rice with Christian Norgaard in the 76th minute.
Asked about the injury after the game, Arteta said: “I don’t know. Declan had to be substituted so unfortunately he’ll have to get tested and see if he’ll be able to play on Wednesday. And then hopefully the rest will be okay. But we don’t know.”
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Rice made no mention of his injury on Instagram, posting a photo of himself celebrating the goal with the caption “Keep pushing” and a smiley face and heart emoji.
Arsenal return to Premier League action against Brighton on Wednesday night before facing Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday. They will then travel to Germany for the Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayer Leverkusen on March 11.
With a non-stop schedule, Arsenal will still play in all four competitions and challenge for a potential quadruple. Arteta has confirmed that he will make changes to his starting XI against Brighton due to the short duration of the game. “We’re going to have to make changes and give everyone a chance to be fresh,” he said.
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Declan Rice was substituted due to a possible injury (Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Raya made some crucial saves to keep Chelsea at bay, but like Rice, it looked like he could have picked up a bruise late on. “I don’t know what happened with that action,” Arteta said. “He had a little bit of a problem this week so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but overall I’m very happy.”
After Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday night, Arteta secured all three points and praised his goalkeeper, who had to be vigilant to keep his team on track.
“David is definitely one of our leaders,” Arteta said. “He is a keeper who knows how to maintain concentration and decide the football match when necessary, because sometimes he does not participate at all, but then he has to be there for one action, which is very difficult.
“Then it was the save he made in the final action. It was a cross, not a shot, but it ended up being an unbelievable shot. I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped, but David’s hands were there and it gave me a breather.”
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