Declan Rice was caught giving Arsenal teammates a piece of his mind after their stoppage-time winner against Wolves
Declan Rice was caught on camera giving his teammates a stern talking-to after Arsenal’s last-minute victory against Wolves. Mikel Arteta’s squad needed two own goals from Wolves – one of them coming in the fourth minute of stoppage time – to snatch a 2-1 win and ensure they remained at the top of the Premier League.
The winning goal naturally sparked wild celebrations among both players and fans. However, a visibly frustrated Rice was not in the mood for celebrating the Gunners’ narrow escape, as seen in behind-the-goal footage shared by TNT Sports.
As the players gathered near the byline, the former West Ham star was spotted giving Jurrien Timber and others a piece of his mind, seemingly saying something along the lines of ‘switch on’.
This led to Gabriel Jesus stepping in, with the Brazilian patting Rice on the back. Rice’s outburst left Bukayo Saka looking puzzled. Saka then turned, kicked a cone and roared in delight towards the home fans.
Rice wasn’t done, though. As the players started heading back to the halfway line, Jesus had his arm on Rice’s back in an apparent attempt to calm him.
READ MORE: Arsenal recover from late Wolves blow to seal last-gasp win in thriller – 5 talking pointsREAD MORE: Declan Rice’s stance on Arsenal captaincy as Tony Adams plea echoed by fans
But just before the clip ends, the midfielder turns to dish out another verbal volley to a teammate. Rice’s behaviour has been well received by some Arsenal fans, who see it as evidence he should be club captain instead of Martin Odegaard.
One supporter said: “Rice’s reaction is that of a true leader and has been for the last year. Take rice out of our team and we collapse. He is a captain in every sense of the word.”
However, not everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet. One individual commented: “I don’t think someone who can’t control their emotions would be such a good fit for a leader. In this moment, he should be happy with the team and voice out his frustrations later, not try and demoralise them.”
This wasn’t Rice’s first time giving a colleague a rocket. During Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, Rice didn’t hold back on Odegaard for missing a challenge before the winning goal.
Villa’s Ian Maatsen managed to slip past three Arsenal players after Odegaard, who got to him first, seemed to hesitate instead of going all in for the tackle. Rice responded furiously, gesticulating wildly and berating his captain shortly afterwards.
Following the relief of the win over Wolves, Arsenal make their first trip to Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, aiming to ensure they are still top of the Premier League for Christmas.
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
