Declan Rice sent a message to Bukayo Saka on social media after Arsenal triumphed in the North London derby on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal had to hold on at the end as Tottenham Hotspur threatened to complete a remarkable comeback, but ultimately they were able to claim all three vital points in this Premier League clash between the two bitter North London rivals.
Bukayo Saka got the ball rolling in the first half, as his near-post corner delivery was turned into his own net by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Bukayo Saka stars as Arsenal triumph over Spurs
Saka then doubled the Gunners’ advantage with less than half an hour on the clock. As Mikel Arteta’s side launched a counter-attack, Kai Havertz picked out the 22-year-old with a long range-pass. The Hale End academy graduate took the ball into his stride with a wonderful first touch, before cutting inside Spurs defender Ben Davies onto his favoured left foot and picking out the bottom corner.
Saka matched two Arsenal records previously set by Ian Wright in this game.
With just over five minutes to go before the break, Arsenal got more joy from a corner. This time Declan Rice sent the ball in and Havertz was on hand to head home from close range. Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was hailed for his influence in this game by Gary Neville.
The hosts fought back after the break, and a horrendous David Raya error in the 64th minute gifted them a goal and some momentum. Late on, Spurs pulled it back to 3-2 from the penalty spot. Overall, though, Arsenal were able to keep their heads and see the game out. Raya was praised by Arsenal fans for the manner in which he recovered from his mistake.
Declan Rice sends message to Bukayo Saka after Arsenal beat Tottenham
By the time the final whistle blew, Saka was wearing the captain’s armband, with Martin Odegaard having already gone off the pitch.
The England man then took to Instagram to post “North London, you’re OURS! Always & Forever.”
Rice then responded to this statement with a message of his own, saying “LET THEM KEEP TALKING!!!!”
The likes of Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Jurrien Timber, Beth Mead, and sporting director Edu all also interacted with Saka’s post.