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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice missed Tuesday's thumping win against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium after suffering a minor knee injury against Brighton on Saturday
Declan Rice has hailed his Arsenal teammates after the Gunners produced a sensational second-half performance to dismantle Aston Villa and record a 4-1 win at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta's side were rampant after the break and took the lead through Gabriel Magalhaes before Martin Zubimendi doubled their advantage. Leandro Trossard made it three, and Gabriel Jesus put gloss on the scoreline to net Arsenal's fourth late into the game.
Ollie Watkins pulled one back in stoppage time for Villa, but it proved to be too little too late as the Gunners recorded a fourth straight win to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
It was a vital win in the context of the title race, too, with Villa sneaking up behind second-place Manchester City and Arsenal after winning eight league matches in a row prior to their trip to north London.
The Gunners did it without talismanic midfielder Declan Rice, as the England international was forced to miss out after suffering a knee injury in the win against Brighton on Saturday.
Following the win against Villa, Rice took to social media to praise his Arsenal teammates on a superb victory on home turf. He said on Instagram: "This team!!!! We keep going [three red love heart emojis]."
Rice, who was fielded at right-back against Brighton with Ben White and Jurrien Timber were both unavailable, took a knock to his knee during the game but played through the pain barrier.
There was hope that he would be fit to face Villa, but he wasn't named in the matchday squad. Delivering an update pre-match, Arteta told Sky Sports: "Declan got a big kick in his knee during the match [against Brighton], at the start of the match actually, and by the time he finished the match he had a massive swell up.
"The game [against Villa] was too early for him to be able to consider."
Asked if it was a short-term injury for Rice, the Arsenal head coach added: "I think so. I hope that when the swelling comes out he can function [and] he will be fine. We miss Riccy [Calafiori] as well today."
Post-match, Arteta was then quizzed on Rice's availability for Saturday's trip to Bournemouth.
"Depends," the Spaniard replied. "That swelling has to come right down for him to have the chance to function. He wasn't available to do that today yet. He's improving but let's see what it is in the next couple of days."
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