Declan Rice had said Arsenal were unlucky to not score 10 goals against Tottenham in their north London derby victory at the Emirates Stadium.
A 44th-minute goal from Leandro Trossard proved to be the winner as the Gunners edged Spurs 2-1 to move four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool on Wednesday.
Dominic Solanke own goal had initiated Arsenal’s comeback after Spurs captain Son Heung-min opened the scoring against the run of play in the 25th minute.
“You can tell that it meant more than anything. From the first minute. The first half was pure domination. We showed the intent, the pressure, the desire, you could tell it was a derby,” midfielder Rice told TNT Sports (via Bein Sport).
“I think we were probably unlucky that we didn’t score 10 tonight. That is the feeling.”
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Rice forced a save out of Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the 73rd minute, while Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Trossard also passed up chances to increase the home side’s advantage.
Tottenham, meanwhile, struck the woodwork through Pedro Porro in second-half stoppage time.
Mikel Arteta’s men finished the game with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.42 from 14 attempts, of which only four were on target.
Spurs, on the other hand, had two of their 10 attempts on target and generated an xG of 0.83 to extend their winless run to five league games.
“When you play Spurs you know what it means to the fans. As a player, if you can’t get up for Spurs, then you shouldn’t be playing football. You need to have that fire in your belly,” Rice said.
It was Arsenal’s fifth double over their London rivals during the Premier League era, having also beaten them 1-0 in the reverse fixture in September.
“The three points is the most important thing. Hopefully, now we can go on a run because this is the most important part of the season,” the 26-year-old added.
The result puts pressure on frontrunners Liverpool, who dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday but have a game in hand over the Gunners.
“We were outstanding. From the first minute we were really at it, really intense. We played with a real purpose of hurting them. We created an unbelievable atmosphere,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told BBC Sport.
“When you have opportunities [to close the gap] you have to take them. We are on a really consistent run in the Premier League.”
