Rice Slams Arsenal’s “Naive” Display in Old Trafford Draw

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Declan Rice’s impressive performance at both ends of Old Trafford earned Arsenal a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has delivered a scathing critique of his team’s performance following their 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, labeling their play in the final minutes as “naive” and admitting they were fortunate not to lose the match. The result deals another blow to Arsenal’s already slim hopes of challenging for the Premier League title, leaving them 15 points behind leaders Liverpool with just 10 games remaining.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Rice didn’t mince words about Arsenal’s performance. “In the first half, some beautiful bits of play but we didn’t have that clinical cutting edge,” he said, acknowledging the team’s early promise. “Then second half we’ve done things we’ve not done all season, we were very naive in the last 10 minutes and could easily have handed the game to Man United because they have that individual quality and threat.”

Rice pinpointed specific errors that nearly cost Arsenal the game. “Just, second balls, trying to flick balls when the ball was dropping, losing our runners, trying to play out from the back with patterns that we never do and playing Manchester United right into their press perfectly,” he explained. “The chance at the end with Bruno and David [Raya] making two amazing saves, that’s why I’m speaking about naivety of the last 10 minutes. It could easily have gone in their favour.”

He added, “Other than that last 10 minutes, I didn’t see them creating a lot, but it was down to us, and we could have thrown the game away.” His comments highlight the self-inflicted nature of Arsenal’s struggles and a growing concern within the squad about their ability to close out games.