You got to love Arsenal midfield maestro Declan Rice providing the bulletin board material for arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur last night. And honestly, Aston Villa could use the remarks as motivational fodder as well.
“We are unlucky we didn’t score 10, that’s the feeling,” Rice said after his side won the North London Derby 2-1 yesterday.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Jan 18, 5:30 pm, Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Arsenal Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Aston Villa Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Google Result Probability: Arsenal 65% Draw 21% Aston Villa 14%
“We don’t need a message, playing Spurs, if you can’t get up for that then you shouldn’t be playing football. We could have had another five or six and that is the disappointing thing.”
Wait, so which is it- 10 goals or 5-6? Either way, it’s a huge jump up from 2. But hey, his remarks are provocative, and they have us media types going, and that’s all we can ask for.
Starting XI Predictions
Arsenal FC (4-3-3)
David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans; Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran, Ollie Watkins
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.