Rice’s injury-time header gives Arsenal win over Luton in seven-goal thriller
It was a performance of two faces byArsenalon a night when they absolutely had to win; dropping points at relegation-threatened Luton is not a part of any championship portfolio.
For longer than anybody connected to Arsenal will care to remember, it looked like being a tale of their defensive softness. That, and the steel and silk of Luton – all of their players bringing the former; Ross Barkley, the best player on the pitch, contributing the latter. In abundance.
Luton were buoyant. They had been determined to build on their previous two results at home – the draw against Liverpool and the win over Crystal Palace. Further reward looked on and the question was simple – what did Arsenal have by way of response?
The answer, happily for them, was more attacking menace, more of the cutting edge that had characterised the performance. And they showed it until the very last. Luton thought they had a precious point. Arsenal had pushed after Kai Havertz’s equaliser on the hour but the last of the six additional minutes had been played and still the scores were level.
Enter Declan Rice. It was Martin Ødegaard who whipped over the cross after Arsenal recycled a move with nerveless patience and there was Rice to flick a header into the far corner. Cue bedlam, with Mikel Arteta so overcome by the emotion that he was booked; his third caution of the season, meaning he will be banned from the touchline for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
Here is how the Premier League Table Looks Like After the Luton vs Arsenal Game Ended
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 15 | 19 | 36 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 14 | 18 | 31 |
| 3 | Man City | 14 | 20 | 30 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 14 | 13 | 29 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 8 | 27 |
Yet again, Arsenal had shown their never-say-die belief, making their punches count in the closing stages. They had previously won this season with late goals against the Manchester clubs and Brentford, while they could also count an84th minute equaliser against Chelsea. This is more like the kind of thing that powers title challenges.
There was never any way that Arteta was going to criticise Raya. He limited himself to saying that his team had to defend better as a group and that was certainly the case on Luton’s first goal for 1-1.
Barkley looked like he was playing with his own ball at times. His technical quality shone brightly and it was a lovely pass that he pinged into Andros Townsend after the restart, the winger’s shot deflecting for a corner. Again, Luton’s brought the desire and aggression on it. Raya could not cope. He was bullied by Adebayo, who pushed away Rice and timed his leap.
EPL: Final Scores
Wolves 1 vs 0 Burnley
Luton 3 vs 4 Arsenal
Barkley’s evening would get even better; Raya’s would deteriorate. Barkley had surged from halfway, carrying up the inside left, revelling in every caress of the ball when he cut across to Townsend and got it back on the left hand side of the area. A step-over, a swerve to the outside, a low blast. Raya felt the ball swoosh underneath him. Arsenal had previously conceded only three away goals in thePremier Leagueall season.
Back they came again. The equaliser was all about the presence of Jesus, who reached a high punt forward by Saka and held off Teden Mengi before picking out Havertz. Jesus was outstanding and so was Saka, the pair shimmering with menace throughout. Havertz had gone close with a header towards the end but it was not a night when Arsenal would fall short.
