Declan Rice dodges 'Steven Gerrard moment' as Arsenal avoid 'banana skin' Tottenham result

Declan Rice was left red-faced when he gifted Tottenham an equaliser just seconds after Arsenal opened the scoring in the latest individual error

Gary Lineker has claimed that Arsenal avoided their own Steven Gerrard moment with Declan Rice in their 4-1 win over Tottenham in the north London derby.

Mikel Arteta's men responded to Wednesday's disappointing 2-2 draw against Wolves with an emphatic victory against their arch rivals after Eberechi Eze's opener was cancelled out by Randal Kolo Muani immediately after kick-off.

Rice lost possession deep inside Arsenal's half after attempting a piece of skill before Kolo Muani smashed the ball past David Raya. Fortunately, Eze scored again and Viktor Gyokeres bagged his own brace.

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Much was made of the manner of Tottenham's goal after Rice was seen urging his teammates not to get carried away and remain focused after Eze opened the scoring. The England international recovered from his mistake and helped the Premier League leaders ease past their rivals.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker pointed to the famous Gerrard moment in 2014, when the Liverpool captain slipped against Chelsea, resulting in the Reds losing the title.

He said: "It was quite the irony, we were saying if it goes a bit pear-shaped for Arsenal, it might be a Steven Gerrard moment because as soon as the goal goes in, he grabs all the players and it’s ‘mentality’ and it was a very open to the public view with the Wolves game in his mind that this can’t happen again.

"Then he of all people who rarely mistakes then you think to yourself, ‘oh boy, not this kind of moment’. Everybody makes mistakes but it’s so rare for him. It was like Raya the other day in the Wolves game then you go, ‘oh, wow, Raya’s made a mistake'."

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards claimed that the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could be a huge result in Arteta's men having confidence to win the Premier League title.

He added: "You know I mentioned City having that statement win against Liverpool, this was one of those that could have been a banana skin.

"To come through that game, it gives them the confidence they need. It will go to the Etihad, they play each other in the league, that’ll be the game, I think."

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