Despite Liverpool’s advantage over Arsenal in the English Premier League title race, Declan Rice insists his team will fight until it is mathematically impossible to overtake Arne Slot’s side.
Rice said this after they lost more important points to Manchester United. His second-half effort cancelled out a Bruno Fernandes free kick as Arsenal rallied from behind to draw 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
However, the Gunners are now 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool, with only one game in hand, and Slot’s team will win the title with just 16 more points.
Arsenal struggled to create clear chances, only amassing a figure of 1.61 expected goals (xG) to their opponents’ 1.65, despite having 17 shots and facing just 10.
Rice refuses to concede title race defeat
Speaking to Sky Sports after full-time, Rice lamented Arsenal’s lack of attacking thrust just five days on from a crushing 7-1 win over PSV in the Champions League.
“In the first half, we had some beautiful bits of play but didn’t have that cutting edge,” he said. “In the second half, we were very naive and almost gave the game to United.
“We scored seven in midweek and that’s not luck. PSV hadn’t lost at home for two years. United did well and sat in the low block well. It can take 90 minutes to break that down. There wasn’t much in the game.”
There is now a strong chance Liverpool will have secured the title before Arsenal visit Anfield on May 10, and the Gunners are closer to 10th-placed Fulham (13 points) than they are to the leaders.
But Rice refused to concede the title race, saying: “We’ll keep going until the end of the season. Liverpool have been amazing all year. We’re Arsenal. We’ve been hit hard by injuries. We’ll keep going, and we’ll be alright.”
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