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Declan Rice reacts after being mocked for ‘most Arsenal goal celebration ever’

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 9: Declan Rice of Arsenal celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-1 during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on March 9, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Declan Rice celebrated scoring Arsenal’s equaliser against Manchester United by shushing the Stretford End (Picture: Getty)

Declan Rice dismissed critcism of his goal celebration against Manchester Untied as nothing more than ‘football banter’.

The Arsenal midfielder cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’ superb free kick with an equally impressive strike with 14 minutes remaining of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Instead of running to retrieve the ball from the back of Andre Onana’s net and running back to the halfway line, Rice chose to shush the Stretford End and celebrate provocatively in front of the home supporters.

Gary Neville questioned Rice’s antics and suggested he and Arsenal would have been better served by getting on with the game and searching for a winner.

As it transpired, only an incredible goal saving challenge from Rice and some superb goalkeeping from David Raya prevented United from claiming all three points.

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Arsenal are now a distant 15 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool, albeit having played a game more, and are now nervously looking over their shoulders with the top four race now suddenly having a different complexion.

After dropping two more points, rival fans took the opportunity to mock Rice, claiming his self-indulgent celebration typified a supposed mentality issue that has held Arsenal back from winning major honours under Mikel Arteta.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Richard Callis/SPP/Shutterstock (15186669b) Old Trafford MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 09: Declan Rice of Arsenal FC celebrates his goal during the Premier League 2024/25 Matchweek 28 match between Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford, on March 09, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Richard Callis / SPP) Manchester United FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League 2024/25 - Matchweek 28, Old Trafford, England - 09 Mar 2025
Declan Rice also copied Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘calma’ celebration (Credits: Richard Callis/SPP/Shutterstock)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Arsenal - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - March 9, 2025 Arsenal's Declan Rice reacts after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..
Declan Rice and Arsenal have been accused of having a mentality problem (Credits: REUTERS)

‘Rice doing the shush celebration while being 15 points behind Liverpool is exactly what Haaland meant,’ said one fan on X, referencing the Manchester City striker’s message to Arteta earlier this season.

And another fan commented: ‘It’s absolutely killing me that Declan Rice shushed the whole of Old Trafford and did the ‘calma’ celebration after scoring an equaliser against a side that’s won 1 in 5 and sits 14th in the league table.’

Asked about his celebration by Sky Sports in his post match interview, Rice responded with a dismissive statement, saying: ‘I think it’s just a bit of football banter between me and the fans.’

In fairness to the England international, he was one of the few Arsenal players who performed to their usual level on the day and his tackle on Hojlund will live long in the memory.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Arsenal - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - March 9, 2025 Arsenal's Declan Rice in action with Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund REUTERS/Phil Noble EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..
Declan Rice produced a sensational goal-saving challenge to deny Rasmus Hojlund (Credits: REUTERS)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Arsenal - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - March 9, 2025 Arsenal's David Raya makes a save REUTERS/Phil Noble EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Arsenal were also indebted to goalkeeper David Raya (Credits: REUTERS)

When pressed about his favourite moment of his man-of-the-match display, Rice looked past his superb 20-yard curler to select his key defensive play.

‘Probably the tackle, just because of the state of the game,’ he said. ‘It defines the small margins in football for me because it could have been a penalty and probably a red card for me if I didn’t react as quickly as I did.

‘I made the tackle, and we go to the other end and nearly score. These are the margins in football, but for me, those tackles are equally as important as scoring goals. That was a big one today so I liked that.’

Reflecting on the move that led to his goal, he described what was going through his head: ‘Just to hit it, be positive.

‘[Jurrien Timber] rolled me a nice ball back. The space was on the other side of the goal where I finished it, so it was just about a nice clean connection, a nice sweep and just put my foot through the back of the ball, so I was happy with that goal. It’s always special to score for this club, it’s not a bad feeling.’

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