LONDON, Sep 4: The club record fee that Arsenal paid for Declan Rice is looking like good value.
The midfielder scored his first Arsenal goal deep into injury time before Gabriel Jesus added another one past the 100th minute mark to give Arsenal a 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said about the late win.
The game looked headed for a 1-1 draw when the ball fell to Rice after a corner and the midfielder downed it on his chest before hitting a right-footed shot that beat Andre Onana inside the near post in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Cue massive celebrations at the Emirates Stadium, just minutes after the away fans had been jumping up and down thinking they would be leaving with a late win. United substitute Alejandro Garnacho had raced through on goal after a quick counterattack in the 89th and beat Aaron Ramsdale with a low shot, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check for offside.
Instead it was Rice who came up with the decisive goal at the other end.
The England international cost Arsenal in excess of $125 million from West Ham and his goal went a long way toward showing he was worth it as the Gunners earned a crucial three points against a top-four rival.
With United pushing forward for a last-gasp equalizer, Arsenal then countered in the 11th minute of stoppages and Jesus calmly slotted the ball past Onana to seal the win.
The teams had traded quick goals in the first half. Marcus Rashford gave United the lead against the run of play after a quick counter in the 27th and Odegaard levelled shortly after the restart.
There were few quality chances between Odegaard’s goal and the frantic last few minutes of the game, although Kai Havertz thought he had earned a penalty in the second half when he drove into the area between Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Casemiro and went to the ground. Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot but the decision was overturned after replays showed there was little if any contact.
It was another rough outing for Havertz, who was brought in from Chelsea in the summer to form a midfield duo with Rice. The German had a great chance to put the Gunners ahead in the 13th but completely whiffed his shot from six yards out, then gave the ball away with a sloppy pass that led to United’s goal.
Striker Rasmus Hojlund came on in the second half to make his United debut after a $90 million transfer from Atalanta. Centre back Jonny Evans also came on as a late substitute for his first United appearance since 2015. (AP)
