Rice hoping for trophies as Arsenal chase down 'full throttle' Liverpool

The Gunners moved second in the table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich on Friday but remain six points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand. Arsenal finished second to Manchester City in each of the previous two seasons and Rice wants to end their status as nearly men in the new year.

"Hopefully the new year brings trophies, we've been pushing for that. To make the next step to be amongst the elite, you have to win stuff," the England midfielder told 'Amazon Prime'. "We can keep winning games but it means nothing if you don't win nothing. Liverpool are full throttle, they were under (Jurgen) Klopp and now under (Arne) Slot. They don't let anyone breathe. We need someone to help us out so they can drop points as we can only focus on ourselves and hopefully, something can happen."

Arsenal's chances of chasing down a Liverpool side that have lost just once in 17 Premier League games under Slot has not been helped by a serious hamstring injury suffered by Bukayo Saka. The England winger will be sidelined for at least several weeks with fears he may not return before March.

Rice said others now have to take extra responsibility in his absence and believes his own performances are improving after recovering from the physical and mental exertion of England's run to the Euro 2024 final. "Tonight was different without him he's been our main man," added Rice. "We're going to have to adapt. It's a great chance for players to step up over the coming months and make their mark. I had a slow start after the Euros but in the last couple of weeks I've found my feet again and I'm feeling back to myself."

 

December 28, 2024