EPL: Declan Rice strikes late as Gunners edge Luton in seven-goal thriller
Declan Rice struck with a last-gasp header to break Luton hearts and send Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 4-3 victory for Mikel Arteta’s team at Kenilworth Road.
The Gunners looked to be missing out on the chance to extend their lead over Liverpool and Man City after a battling display from Luton, but Rice’s header 23 seconds into the seventh minute of a minimum of six additional minutes sparked dramatic celebrations amongst the Arsenal fans and players.
Rice, speaking after the game, described it as a big moment in Arsenal’s season.
“Luton are a top side, they can no way be overlooked in this league because of the quality they’ve got,” Rice said.
“They made us pay tonight [Tuesday] with set pieces, us being sloppy at the back but for us to score last minute and keep that momentum building is massive for us in this season.”
Luton went toe to toe with the league leaders in the early stages, but Arsenal pounced after Thomas Kaminski had to kick the ball out of play following a poor back pass, Bukayo Saka teeing up Gabriel Martinelli for the 20th-minute opener to undo all the home side’s good early work.
All was not lost for Luton, though, and they responded five minutes later through Gabriel Osho’s header to lift the noise levels at Kenilworth Road once again.
However, Arteta’s side quietened the atmosphere once again on the stroke of half-time as Gabriel Jesus headed home from close range to restore the visitors’ lead.
David Raya was once again in the spotlight early in the second half as his errors allowed Luton to turn the game on its head with goals from Elijah Adebayo (49) and Ross Barkley (57), but Arsenal found a response through Kai Havertz on the hour mark to bring the game level again.
There was plenty of time left for a winner and Arsenal’s dominance grew, but roared on by the home fans, Rob Edwards’ side looked to be heading for a valuable point but Rice’s heroics broke Luton’s resistance and kept his side’s title challenge firmly on track.
