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Declan Rice reveals what he and his Arsenal team mates really think about Man City striker Erling Haaland

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Declan Rice of Arsenal with Gabriel Magalhaes during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC at Emirates Stadium on Febr...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Arsenal rose to the occasion at the Emirates Stadium after a thumping 5-1 victory over Manchester City moved them back to within six points of Liverpool.

Martin Odegaard got Arsenal off to a dream start with the opener inside two minutes and the Gunners should have been two up at half time after an extraordinary miss from Kai Havertz.

Erling Haaland drew City level early in the second half before a stunning performance wrestled back the ascendency for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Thomas Partey’s deflected strike made it 2-1 and then Myles Lewis-Skelly made it three with a fine strike on his weaker foot. Havertz made amends for his miss before Ethan Nwaneri rounded off the scoring.

Ian Wright praised Arsenal’s clinical finishing in the second half and proved that not every team needs a Haaland leading their line.

Erling Haaland of Manchester City tangles with Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City ...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Declan Rice says the Arsenal squad have a lot of ‘respect’ for Erling Haaland

Speaking to beIN Sports after the game, Declan Rice was asked about the clashes between several of his Gunners team mates and Man City striker Haaland during the game.

Rice stated: “Our whole team has big respect for him because of what Erling has done in the Premier League and the goals he has scored, he’s a top player.”

Rice was then asked whether he believed the result could give Arsenal the momentum to win the Premier League.

He responded by explaining: “I’m not going to get carried away, we’ve been in this position before and we knew today we had to win.”

Erling Haaland was restricted to six touches in the first half at the Emirates Stadium

Haaland got Man City on level terms at the beginning of the second half but managed just six touches in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

Gabriel Magalhaes fired a warning to Haaland before the game that he would not have things his own way following the battle between the pair at the Etihad earlier in the season.

Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal tangles with Erling Haaland of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City ...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Gabriel was also seen winding Haaland up after Arsenal’s opener but then let his football do the talking by dominating the Norwegian centre forward throughout the game.

Haaland showed what a class act he is by scoring despite being under constant pressure by the Arsenal defence but it proved to be just a consolation as the Gunners fired themselves to three vital points.

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