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Gary Neville Warn Mikel Arteta ‘The only player you’d be worried about..
Gary Neville Shares Declan Rice Worry After Arsenal’s Big Win vs Tottenham
arsenal declan rice
Arsenal, following their 4-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium to round off a frantic weekend of Premier League action, have now gone seven competitive matches unbeaten against their arch-rivals and Gary Neville, who was impressed by the Gunners’ imperious showing, singled out the one Declan Rice worry he holds over Mikel Arteta’s side.
Barring Richarlison’s worldie in the second half, Thomas Frank’s Spurs were a shadow of the team which beat Manchester City 2-0 in August – and conceding four goals in the fashion they did will be a concern moving forward. That’s especially the case with a visit to Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes on the horizon.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Throughout his Arsenal career as a player or manager, Mikel Arteta has never lost a home game against Tottenham Hotspur in any competition.
Sunday afternoon’s stroll in the park was dominated by Arsenal playmaker Eberechi Eze, who scored a hat-trick of strikes after Leandro Trossard drew first blood in the 36th minute. In the absence of Martin Odegaard, the summer recruit stepped up to the plate and became the first hat-trick hero in North London derbies of the Premier League era.
It’ll no doubt be Eze’s name basking in the spotlight after what looked a routine victory over their arch-rivals – but, truth be told, there were plenty of big performances that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Bukayo Saka was a constant threat on the wing, Trossard’s goal was the tip of the iceberg and Piero Hincapie looked comfortable at the back. Rice, too, was excellent.
Gary Neville Points Out Single Declan Rice Worry After 4-1 Win Over Spurs
declan rice
Now six points clear at the top of the 2025/26 Premier League table, it’ll take some doing to derail the Gunners’ title pursuit as their enviable strength in depth means that many changes are like-for-like replacements. At the time of writing, Viktor Gyokeres, Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes are all out of action.
Neville, however, fears that Arsenal have one irreplaceable talent at the heart of their success and that’s none other than midfield maestro Declan Rice. The Englishman, 26, moved from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 and has since featured for the capital club north of 100 times.
“The interesting thing is they’ve got [Riccardo] Calafiori and [Jurrien] Timber at full-back. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White are probably better going forward, although there’s not much between White and Timber,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast. “They’ve got real options at full-back, real options at centre-back.”
Likening the 1999-born ace to Manchester City lynchpin and the 2024 Ballon d’Or-winning Rodri and former Manchester United captain Roy Keane given how influential he is to proceedings in north London, Neville worries about how Arteta and his men would fare without Rice in the engine room.
“The only player you’d be worried about losing for a period of time would be Declan Rice because you can’t replace that. That’s your Roy Keane, that’s your Rodri, the player that holds you together. There’s only one of them.”
“They have got options if he wasn’t there, but you’d never be able to replace the ability of him to be powerful on set-pieces, his running, his tackling, his impact on the game going forward,” Neville continued before adding, “I’m really happy with Arsenal watching them this season, I like watching good teams play football.”
Rice – and for very good reason, too – is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in world football after consistently brilliant performances for the Gunners and, this season alone, he’s registered eight goal involvements (two goals and six assists) in 18 appearances across all competitions. His influence moves beyond actions in the final third mind.
The perfect box-to-box presence, London-born Rice would be a sore miss if he was to pick up a long-term injury between now and the end of the campaign. Adding to that, Neville is also of the belief that Arsenal are the leading contenders for the Premier League trophy – and that’s despite them finishing runners-up three seasons on the bounce.
It’s not only a squad that should go on and win the Premier League, it’s a squad that I can see winning the Champions League in the next two or three years,” he said before suggesting winning Europe’s top table will be on the horizon in the seasons to come.
“It might not be this season because sometimes when you go on to win your first Premier League you can get so consumed by that, you get done in a European game in midweek in a two-legged tie. But they’re getting to that level of performance and resilience and stability and consistency.”
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Arsenal player ratings vs Wolves: That was lucky! TWO own goals give Gunners dramatic late win over Premier League strugglers as Viktor Gyokeres blanks again
Player ratings
Lucky Arsenal were let off the hook in dramatic style as they claimed a 2-1 win against Wolves thanks to two own goals from the Premier League’s basement boys, with Yerson Mosquera heading what proved to be the winner past his own keeper Sam Johnstone deep into stoppage time at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s league leaders looked to have dropped two costly points when Mateus Mane glanced a header past David Raya with just seconds remaining to cancel out Arsenal’s opener, which had come when Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner had struck the far post and gone in off the back of the unfortunate Johnstone.
But they somehow found a way to claim a crucial victory moments later when Saka’s ball in from the right was flicked beyond the despairing Johnstone. It initially looked like substitute Gabriel Jesus, making his first Emirates appearance in just under a year, had got the decisive touch, but replays showed it was in fact Mosquera who got his head to the ball first and inadvertently deflected it into his own net.
It was a hugely fortunate moment for Arsenal, who were poor throughout, but they will take their bit of luck, with the win moving them five-points clear at the top of the table ahead of Manchester City, who play at Crystal Palace tomorrow.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from Emirates Stadium…
Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (6/10):
Made one comfortable save in the first half to deny Hee-Chan. Swept up well and looked set for a clean sheet before Mane’s late header.
Ben White (N/A):
Awful to see him limp of with a hamstring injury early on, just as he’d got himself back in the side.
Jurrien Timber (6/10):
Started off at centre-back, but ended up at right-back after White’s injury. Comfortable night’s work for the large part.
William Saliba (6/10):
Back in the side after injury and looked quite sharp. Not tested too much until those final seconds.
Piero Hincapie (7/10):
Started out at left-back but shifted back into the centre after White’s injury. Solid.
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Midfield
Martin Zubimendi (6/10):
Replaced in the second half, neat and tidy but unable to make the sort of impact he did in midweek.
Declan Rice (7/10):
Set piece delivery was unusually poor. Put it a disappointing corner early on which set the tone for a frustrating night. Not at his best, but still probably the best player on the pitch.
Eberechi Eze (5/10):
No real impact. Was often picking the ball up deep and never really looked like hurting Wolves.
Attack
Bukayo Saka (7/10):
Probably the pick of Arsenal’s attackers, but that’s no saying much. Put in one great ball in the first half that deserved better. It was his corner that led to the Johnstone own goal and his crossed that forced the eventual winner.
Viktor Gyokeres (5/10):
Just couldn’t get into the game. Improved a bit after half-time, but Arsenal need more from him. Had one nice moment just before being replaced when he fired just wide.
Gabriel Martinelli (5/10):
His best moment came seconds before he went off when he drove into the box and curled an effort wide. Disappointing.
Subs & Manager
Myles Lewis-Skelly (6/10):
Replaced the injured Ben White in the first half. Decent enough showing. Looked to get forward when he could.
Martin Odegaard (6/10):
Added a bit more energy, but is passing was a bit off.
Leandro Trossard (7/10):
Certainly improved Arsenal down the left flank.
Mikel Merino (6/10):
Used the ball well having come on in midfield.
Gabriel Jesus (7/10):
On for the final 10 minutes. Got a great reception on his first Emirates appearance in nearly a year and was really lively. Not credited with the winner, but made a difference.
Mikel Arteta (6/10):
Made five changes, but would have been hoping for far more from his side. In hindsight, starting White for the fourth time in a row did not look like a great decision.
Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
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In stoppage time it looked like Wolves had grabbed a hard-fought point.
It looked like Man City would have the chance to go top.
But a SECOND own goal of the game from the visitors brought Arsenal the precious three points.
Top vs bottom? Never assume it’s going to be straight forward!
Arsenal go five points clear at the top of the table. Wolves remain on two.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Wolves (Mosquera, 90+4)
ARSENAL STRIKE BACK!
Saka’s cross is directed in!
At first it looks like Jesus on his Emirates comeback but replays suggest it’s gone in off Mosquera!
TWO Wolves own goals!
Arsenal go five points clear
Arsenal extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points despite struggling against winless Wolves.
Mikel Arteta’s side triumph thanks to two own goals.
First Half: Arsenal 0-0 Wolves
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Arsenal aiming to go five points clear | Teams
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Commentary by Peter Smith, Nick Wright & Gary Cotterill at Emirates Stadium
Wolves team news
Team to play Arsenal: Johnstone, Doherty, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti, Wolfe, Krejci, Andre, J. Gomes, Hwang, Strand Larsen.
Subs: Sa, Bueno, Arias, Arokodare, Chirewa, Hoever, Lopez, Mane, Tchatchoua.
Arsenal team news
Team to play Wolves: Raya, White, Saliba, Timber, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokeres.
Subs: Kepa, Odegaard, Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.
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