Rice, Rice, baby.
Usually 100 million dollar signings are not supposed to be bargains, but Declan Rice is proving to be a rare exception.
In his first year with Arsenal following a lucrative transfer from West Ham in the summer, Rice penned another iconic moment to his Gunners resume with a 97th-minute game-winning header at Luton Town on Tuesday.
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Martin Odegaard whipped in a cross from the left edge of the box that Rice somehow curled home to the bottom right corner, away from the outstretched hands of Thomas Kaminski.
The 4-3 win moved the Gunners five points clear atop the Premier League table, though they have a game in hand over second-place Liverpool who play on Wednesday.
Newly promoted Luton Town gave Arsenal more than they bargained for, as the Gunners entered the game with the league's best defensive numbers.
Soccer
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the 20th minute for Arsenal before Gabriel Osho equalized on a corner-kick header just five minutes later. Gabriel Jesus then put Arsenal up 2-1 right before the interval with a header of his own, but Elijah Adebayo equalized on another corner-kick header four minutes into the second half.
The Hatters delivered more chaos in the 57th minute when midfielder Ross Barkley gave them a 3-2 lead after a David Raya howler in net. But it didn't take long for Arsenal to equalize themselves, with Kai Havertz poking in a slick Jesus pass in the 60th.
Arsenal dominated the game from that point on but left it late to find the eventual winner. It marked Rice's third goal of the campaign following a late winner versus Manchester United and a screamer against Chelsea. The defensive midfielder also has an assist to his name in league play.
Rice's goal also marked Arsenal's fifth during stoppage time this season. You could point to luck, but sometimes teams create their own luck. The Gunners had 2.72 expected goals from their 23 shots to just 0.67 for Luton's six shots, via The xG Philosophy.
Who knows how pivotal this moment could be as the season enters a busy December period.
