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Mikel Arteta has issued a cautious update on Declan Rice’s injury after being forced to sub his £100m man during the North London Derby.
The Arsenal midfielder did not reappear for the second half at the Emirates after feeling discomfort in his back. Without him, the Gunners were nowhere near as dominant after the break and had to settle for a 2-2 draw – a fair result on the balance of play.
Speaking after the game, Areta said: “Yeah he had some discomfort in his back and he was telling us during the first half he wasn’t comfortable and when we assessed him at half-time he couldn’t continue.”
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Asked whether Rice faced a spell out of the side, the Spaniard added: “Hopefully not. We have to assess him because it’s strange that a player like him asks to come off because he wasn’t comfortable so hopefully not but let’s see.”
Arsenal were rewarded for their dominant start in the 26th minute as Bukayo Saka’s shot was sliced into his own net by Cristian Romero. Tottenham equalised three minutes before half-time when Son Heung-min slotted home after James Maddison picked him out from the byline. In between the goals, Gabriel Jesus blazed over the bar after dispossessing Maddison on the edge of his own box – and it proved to be a crucial moment.
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Arsenal were awarded a penalty straight after half-time when Romero blocked Ben White’s shot with his hand. It was initially not given but VAR asked referee Robert Jones to take a look at the incident on the pitchside monitor and he pointed to the spot. Saka cheekily chipped home the penalty to restore his side’s lead.
However, the lead lasted a matter of seconds thanks to an awful blunder from Jorginho, who had replaced Rice at the break, lost the ball to Maddison. He slipped in Son, who passed the ball beyond Raya and into the net.
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Arteta added: “We wanted more but you have to make the most out of it and we didn’t. The moments where we had dominance of the game and control, we conceded the goals and that was a big, big blow.
“Playing in front of this crowd in a derby doesn’t get much better than that, and I think the players were so excited but sometimes you can be too hyped because then we lacked some composure on the ball to get more control, but we have to take the draw, there is nothing else we can do.”
- Declan Rice
- Arsenal FC
- Mikel Arteta
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