"Generational performance", "Playing with pure hatred for City" - Fans praise Arsenal duo for their showing in 5-1 win over Manchester City

Arsenal fans heaped praise on Thomas Partey and Declan Rice for their performance in the Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday, February 2. The pair excelled as the Gunners defeated Pep Guardiola's team 5-1, narrowing the gap with league leaders Liverpool on the EPL table.

Arsenal started the game by mounting pressure on Manchester City's shaky defense, and their strong start produced positive results in the opening two minutes of the game. City defender Manuel Akanji was dispossessed 25 yards from his own goal, and Kai Havertz found Martin Odegaard to tap into an empty net.

However, the subsequent minutes of the first 45 minutes that were characterized by an end-to-end affair ended goalless.

A few minutes after the break, Manchester City were back on level terms. Savinho’s chipped cross found Erling Haaland, who powered a towering header home past David Raya.

The reigning Premier League champions, however, had their equalizer celebration short-lived as Arsenal restored their lead two minutes later. Phil Foden’s pass was intercepted by Thomas Partey, whose effort cannoned off John Stones and nestled into the far corner (56’).

In the 62nd minute, Myles Lewis-Skelly added a third for Arsenal as he cut inside to curl home a shot too hot for Stefan Orgeta to handle. Fourteen minutes from time, Havertz compensated for this earlier miss, curling into the far corner following a lightning-quick Gunners breakaway. There was still time for substitute Ethan Nwaneri to add a fifth in the third minute of stoppage time.

Thomas Partey and Declan Rice were the two players who stood out for the Gunners in the encounter. Partey was impressive in the No. 6 position for his side. He made 2 interceptions, wasn’t dribbled past at all, made 5 tackles in total, and had a rating of 7.9 as per Sofascore.

Rice also produced a man-of-the-match performance. The English midfielder made two interceptions, registered five key passes, created one big chance, and had a rating of 8.4 as per Sofascore. After the match, fans took to X to praise the duo for their performance.

An X user wrote:

''Thomas Partey and Declan Rice generational performance ❤️''

Another tweeted:

''Partey and Rice today man, they were playing with pure hatred for city''

''Rice & Partey were like rice & peas today went perfectly together. Great performance'' @jazz_sian wrote

''Partey and Rice was too solid'' @iam_ridollar added

''Declan Rice and Thomas Partey are the joint players of the match'' @DjTreHustle asserted

''A word on Partey and Rice.. they were simply outstanding! Totally dominated transitions going forward and cutting City off'' @VivekafcVivek raved

Declan Rice says Arsenal has to 'keep pushing' after 5-1 trashing of Manchester City

Man of the Match winner Declan Rice urged his side to continue pushing despite putting Manchester City to the sword at the Emirates. The midfielder said Arsenal’s win over City on Sunday is something that has been in the offing given the fact that the Gunners lost two consecutive league titles to the Cityzens.

He further added that the reverse fixture that was played in September at the Etihad and ended in a 2-2 draw motivated his side to want to come out victorious in the contest.

Rice told Sky Sports after the match:

“I think this is a thing that’s been building up over a certain amount of time. They nicked the title off Arsenal the year I wasn’t here and then last year they beat us to the title.

“It’s been hard to accept that and then obviously with everything that went on at the Etihad at the start of the season, you do have that fire in the stomach, you want to come out here in your home stadium and try and amend that, and in the end we did. We’ve got to keep pushing because we’re still a couple of points off the top and that’s where we want to be.”

Arsenal are second on the Premier League table with 50 points after 24 games, while City have amassed 41 points after the same number of games.