Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice appeared to insist the Premier League title race 'isn't over' following the Gunners' defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday
Declan Rice appeared to send a clear message to his Arsenal teammates after losing to Manchester City
Declan Rice appeared to send a clear message to his Arsenal teammates after losing to Manchester City(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Declan Rice has declared the Premier League title race 'isn't over' after Arsenal's loss to Manchester City. Erling Haaland's strike secured victory for Pep Guardiola's team at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, cutting the Gunners' advantage at the summit to merely three points.
City could overtake the north Londoners when they travel to Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday night, provided they win their game in hand by at least two goals. But with such fine margins between the title contenders, Rice seemingly remains optimistic about claiming silverware.
After the final whistle, the Sky Sports television cameras captured the Arsenal midfielder rallying his teammates. As Rice saw Martin Odegaard in the centre of the pitch, he shouted: "It isn't over."
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Mikel Arteta echoed those sentiments in his post-match press conference, characterising the end-of-season run-in as a 'new league'. The Gunners boss said: "I believe today, I believe on Wednesday a week ago because I see them every day and I know the level that we have.
"But today if they need to be more convinced, I think they are now more convinced. They were talking about it in the dressing room. It's a new league now. They were a game in hand.
"We have three points of advantage and five games to play. So everything is still to play for. So we know how much we've won it and we're not going to stop and we're going to go again, that's for sure."
Arsenal have roughly a week to rest and recover before they return to action. The Gunners are set to take on Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, April 25.
Declan Rice and Arsenal suffered a damaging defeat to Manchester City
Declan Rice and Arsenal suffered a damaging defeat to Manchester City(Image: Carl Recine, Getty Images)
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Arteta continued: "First of all, to win a game in this league is extremely tough. I mean look at the fixtures that we both have. It's going to be tough for both of them.
"If not we would have already 80 points or 85 points like happened in other seasons, it is not the case. So we will prepare game by game and learn from what happened today and do better."
On the atmosphere in the dressing room, Arteta said: "Obviously, they were very disappointed not to get a result from the game in the manner that it happened.
"That's the feeling, immediately you could tell that they were talking about, and they said okay, we lost an opportunity today, but we have the biggest one now in the next five games, so let's do it."