Mikel Arteta expects Declan Rice to score one more late winner soon following his iconic 97th minute goal against Luton Town

Arsenal won a high-scoring thriller against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Mikel Arteta expects Declan Rice to score one more late winner soon following his iconic 97th minute goal against Luton Town

Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice (Via X/@ESPNFC & goal)

Mikel Arteta was in high spirits after Arsenal‘s emphatic win against Luton Town on Tuesday. The Spaniard had high praise for his goalscoring midfielder during a post-match interview. In it, he was confident that the Englishman would come through with another (third) late winner after he did so against Manchester United and Luton Town.

Mikel Arteta has been at the heart of Arsenal‘s electrifying form this season. The Gunners picked up a crucial win on the road against Luton Town in the Premier League on Tuesday. Declan Rice’s late winner against The Hatters made Arteta celebrate in emphatic fashion on the touchline. His celebration was so animated that it required intervention from his assistant Carlos Cuesta keeping in mind that the FA may penalize him.

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A reporter questioned the manager, asking that one would expect him to score 2 late winners in the space of 14 games. Arteta replied:

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Three. So it's one more to go.

He continued to praise the player, saying:

The leadership and quality that he's shown every week, every game is amazing.

He added that Rice has the ability and “capacity” to win headers while going up for corners, and “put the ball in the back of the net“.

Arsenal beat Luton Town to go 5 points clear at the top

Arsenal were all business against Luton Town, as Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring for the visitors in the 20th minute. A quick throw-in and an accurate pass from Bukayo Saka fell to the Brazilian who made no mistake to find the bottom left corner. The home side quickly pulled one back in the 25th minute through a Gabriel Osho header. Arsenal went into the dressing room at half-time leading 2-1.

Declan Rice goal celebration
Declan Rice’s last-minute goal earned Arsenal all three points against Luton Town (Via X/@Arsenal)

Gabriel Jesus got on the end of a looping cross from Ben White to head home from point black. Elijah Adebayo scored the third header of the game from a corner kick to tie things up again in the 49th minute. Luton Town proceeded to take the lead for the first time on the evening through Ross Barkley. David Raya let his shot slip through his grasp in a game in which he was heavily criticized for his performance.

Kai Havertz then scored his third goal in his last four matches. He deftly placed his shot past Thomas Kaminski after Gabriel Jesus set him on a one-on-one with the keeper. The game was heading to a 3-3 draw when Declan Rice came through with a crucial header. He met Martin Odegaard’s cross with a leaping header to steal all three points at the death. Arsenal are now 5 points clear of second place Liverpool.

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