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“Changed the game” – Mikel Arteta credits himself with decisive Arsenal substitution

Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Julian Finney, Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that him bringing Declan Rice on from the bench against Crystal Palace changed the game.

The Gunners thrashed Palace 5-1 at Selhurst Park, but there were a lot of moments in the game when they actually didn’t look as defensively solid as they often do.

Palace were a little unlucky not to have done more damage to the Arsenal defence, while there was simply some really clinical finishing from Arteta’s attackers on the night.

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Still, Arteta spoke after the game and said it felt a lot more controlled once Rice came on to shore things up in defensive midfield.

The England international also showed his quality by getting forward to score the fifth goal, but overall it just made Arsenal feel more solid and compact once he was introduced.

Mikel Arteta on how Declan Rice changed the game against Crystal Palace

Declan Rice celebrates scoring for Arsenal against Crystal Palace

Declan Rice celebrates scoring for Arsenal against Crystal Palace (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“They were more aggressive than in the first game which we expected, but we didn’t understand whether or not which sequences we had to put and the spaces that we needed to create,” Arteta said, as quoted by Arsenal’s official site.

“So, we ended up playing too much with David [Raya] very close his own goal and against them it’s a really bad game to play, and we adjusted a few things. When Rice came on, he changed the game, he gave us more dominance, still the same threat but we were much better.”

Rice wasn’t quite fit enough to start the game at Selhurst Park, but he certainly showed his importance to this Arsenal team when he came on.