Eberechi Eze was the star of the show for Arsenal as he scored a hat-trick against Tottenham in the North London Derby, but Declan Rice still appeared concerned about his team-mate
Eberechi Eze celebrates scoring Arsenal's 4th goal, his 3rd, with Declan Rice
Eberechi Eze celebrated his hat-trick with Declan Rice(Image: David Price/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Declan Rice had Eberechi Eze's back after he scored a hat-trick to earn the plaudits in Arsenal's 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham on Sunday. Eze was the star of the show at the Emirates Stadium as he rubbed salt into the wounds of the club who failed to sign him in the summer.
Leandro Trossard put Arsenal 1-0 up with a deflected finish before Eze took centre stage, blasting past Guglielmo Vicario to double the lead before half-time. It was 3-0 shortly after the break when he found the bottom corner with his left foot and he ensured that Richarlison's stunning lob of David Raya was only a consolation by completing his hat-trick with another composed finish.
Eze was already loved by the Arsenal fans following his £67.5million move from Crystal Palace in the summer. But his hat-trick against Spurs took his status to another level and his celebration after netting the third has got Gunners supporters talking.
Rice was the first team-mate to join the 27-year-old as he wheeled away and he appeared keen to ensure Eze didn't blot his copy book in the excitement of the moment. Eze appeared to pretend to take his shirt off before Rice wagged his finger, apparently stopping him from doing so, and therefore saving him from a yellow card.
In the end, Rice was the only Arsenal player to pick up a booking as three Spurs players went into the referee's notebook. But Arsenal fans had various other theories for the celebration.
"He worked way too hard to wear that shirt, he ain’t taking it off," one wrote on Reddit. Another added: "Think Eze was messing and fooled Rice like you might fool the head boy by pretending to take your tie off before double geography."
A third wrote: "I saw this and thought he was just messing with Richarlison. 10/10." It is possible that Eze was joking about the Spurs striker's love of whipping his shirt off after scoring; he did so against Manchester United recently to make it 2-1, only for the opposition to equalise minutes later.
Eberechi Eze of Arsenal celebrates after scoring a hat-trick
Eberechi Eze celebrated his hat-trick with a joke
View 2 Images
Eze's celebration after his second goal was also memorable, with the midfielder covering his mouth with his gloved hand as he appeared to be laughing at the situation. But he was in no mood to discuss his decision to snub Spurs for Arsenal. Asked by Sky Sports, he simply replied: "Let's not speak about that."
He clearly revelled in his achievement afterwards though. Posting a picture of himself with Eze in the dressing room after the match, Rice simply wrote: "it’s worked out.." Mikel Merino replied: "It has!!" Gabriel Magalhaes and Kepa Arrizabalaga were among the others to reply with emojis.
On his Instagram story, Rice shared the same photo with 'Run This Town' by Jay-Z in the background, while another post said "Atmosphere was incredible today!!! Thank you Gunners."
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Content Image
Content Image