Declan Rice says Arsenal “could have scored three or four” from corners against Manchester United in their 2-0 win at the Emirates.
The Gunners handed Ruben Amorim his first defeat as United manager during a dominant display at home, particularly from set-pieces.
Both of Arsenal’s goals came from corners, the first of which was taken by Rice, as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba were on target, with the home side going as close as 12 as the Red Devils struggled to deal with their opponents. aerial dominance.
Set-up goals have been a running trend during Arsenal’s season and midfielder Rice was delighted to see his side’s tactic working so effectively.
The 25-year-old told Amazon Prime: “What a night. Manchester United have a new manager so we knew it would be a test. We stuck to the game plan and could have had three or four.
“When you go up to a corner it’s a chance to score a goal. For both of them to score from corners, (set-piece coach) Nico (Jover) will be buzzing and I’m so happy.
“It’s more watching clips and knowing the weight I have to put on the ball and it’s just repetition. I put in some good balls and I could have had a few assists so it was nice to get one.”
Manchester United simply CANNOT deal with Arsenal’s corners! 😯
The Gunners have their second goal thanks to William Saliba! ✌️#PLonPrime #ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/N2JQ105S8Q
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 4, 2024
Amorim: “We have to get better”
United were second best in North London with Amorim tasting defeat for the first time in his fourth game as United manager.
The Portuguese coach said: “The set-pieces changed the game. We could have been more aggressive against Arsenal.
“Until the set pieces the game didn’t have too many chances for either side, the set pieces killed the game.
“They can put a lot of players close to the goalkeeper and it is almost impossible to fight for the ball, but we have to manage to defend them and we already know that we have to be better.
“We were committed and we lost at set-pieces. If Matthijs (de Ligt) can score at that moment, the momentum would be different.
We tried to play, but they are a very organized team and it is difficult to score. I felt the players were in control of the game, the set-pieces changed the game in the second half.”
Rice on the title race: “We’ll see what happens”
Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Newcastle saw Arsenal close the gap at the top of the table to seven points on Wednesday night.
An unconvincing run of form, coupled with Liverpool’s dominant form, had many writing the north Londoners out of the title race, but Rice believes it is far from over.
He added: “When you have a blip in the league, it goes away. We’re sticking together as a team and we knew the run of results wasn’t good enough, now we’re starting to see a change.
“People are getting carried away. You just have to be around him in February. Liverpool have dropped points, they’re seven away, so we’ll see what happens.”
