Rice embraces mayhem to douse fire of Barkley and raucous Luton crowd | Premier League
Perhaps this topsy-turvy outdated venue, the place the extra sanitised precepts of the Premier League soccer expertise merely don’t apply, was at all times going to be the place the place Arsenal surrendered themselves to the rollercoaster. Stability and management have been two of the buzzwords round a run that has traded some dazzle for sturdiness; right here, performing in a snapping chill to a snarling viewers, they wheeled away with the sort of white-knuckle victory that wins titles. Declan Rice was bought so as to add exactly the composure Arsenal had lacked throughout their doomed title chase final spring. This time he introduced the chaos, lighting the touchpaper with the ultimate motion of added time for a protracted blur of limbs, wild‑eyed faces and tracksuited figures hurtling ecstatically down the touchline. With the victory confirmed, David Raya – at fault for Luton’s second and third targets, and seemingly destined to be the night time’s villain – embraced his teammate with added that means. It took that a lot to silence this place; to freeze three and a half of its sides into disbelief. On the outset it was tempting to surprise how Mikel Arteta,…