{"id":533326,"date":"2026-04-16T02:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T02:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/533326\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T02:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T02:23:11","slug":"arsenal-star-declan-rice-sends-message-to-man-city-ahead-of-title-decider-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/533326\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal star Declan Rice sends message to Man City ahead of &#8216;title decider&#8217; | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/declan-rice-40d0.png\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27990740\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"sync\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tDeclan Rice after Arsenal\u2019s Champions League win (Picture: TNT Sports)<\/p>\n<p><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/declan-rice\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Declan Rice<\/a> has told <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/manchester-city-fc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester City<\/a> that <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/arsenal-fc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Arsenal<\/a> will be \u2018ready\u2019 for this weekend\u2019s huge <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/premier-league\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Premier League<\/a> clash and insists the Gunners will go out to win at the Etihad Stadium.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/mikel-arteta\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mikel Arteta<\/a> takes his Arsenal team to Man City on Sunday boasting a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners missed the chance to move 12 points clear at the weekend as they suffered a <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/11\/arsenal-vs-bournemouth-live-premier-league-latest-score-confirmed-lineups-27924045\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal then saw title rivals Manchester City close the gap at the top of the table to six points with an <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/12\/chelsea-vs-man-city-live-premier-league-latest-score-goal-updates-27947159\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">emphatic 3-0 win at Chelsea<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Given the situation at the top of the Premier League, Sunday\u2019s game has been <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/13\/man-city-arsenal-wayne-rooney-makes-prediction-premier-league-title-decider-27955257\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">described as a \u2018title decider\u2019 by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It has been suggested that a point at the Etihad would be sufficient for Arsenal to get over the line and secure a first Premier League title since 2004, but Rice insists they are only thinking about the three points.<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether Arsenal \u2018had to win\u2019 their huge clash against title rivals Man City, Rice told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tntsports.co.uk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TNT Sports<\/a>: \u2018Yeah, of course, you\u00a0have to\u00a0win every game, we want to win every game.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2271517491.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27990698\" alt=\"Arsenal FC v Sporting Clube de Portugal - UEFA Champions League 2025\/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tArsenal beat Sporting to advance in the Champions League (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Our record has been amazing this season and these type of games\u2026 it\u2019s\u00a0why we play the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ll\u00a0be ready for\u00a0it,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0be ready to go. How much do you want it, you know? I know\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0be ready and the boys will be ready, so\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0go.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Rice was speaking after Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a narrow 1-0 win over Sporting.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270990710_302498.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-27990705\" alt=\"Chelsea v Manchester City - Premier League\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tPep Guardiola\u2019s Manchester City are chasing Arsenal (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n<p>Kai Havertz scored an injury-time winner out in Lisbon last week and the return leg at the Emirates Stadium ended goalless.<\/p>\n<p>Rice added: \u2018I\u2019m delighted. I\u2019m so, so happy. We now want to go one step forward than last season and get to the final.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Frustrating? No\u2026we\u2019ve just got to another semi-final. Who cares what people think.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Analysing Arsenal\u2019s performance against Portuguese champions Sporting, Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live: \u2018We know what is going to happen, we know what the narrative is going to be.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A lot of people will rip Arsenal to shreds with the way they attacked or, should I say, didn\u2019t attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Towards the end of the game, it is about seeing it through \u2013 the objective tonight was going through and finding a way.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It wasn\u2019t perfect by any means, but defensively they do a lot right. It has been a struggle for a while and things do need to change\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">For more stories like this,\u00a0<a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/sport\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/sport\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">check our sport page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sportmetro\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metro_Sport\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/metrosportuk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/15\/man-utd-can-line-chelsea-fresh-blow-sparks-defensive-crisis-27985696\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How Man Utd can line up against Chelsea after fresh blow sparks defensive crisis<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/15\/danny-murphy-makes-prediction-potential-arsenal-vs-atletico-madrid-semi-final-27984838\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Danny Murphy makes prediction for potential Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid semi-final<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/15\/sporting-suffer-injury-blow-star-mikel-arteta-wanted-arsenal-ruled-27984895\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sporting suffer injury blow with star Mikel Arteta wanted at Arsenal ruled out<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tComment now<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tComments<br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Declan Rice after Arsenal\u2019s Champions League win (Picture: TNT Sports) Declan Rice has told Manchester City that Arsenal&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[220,1669,12332,218,59,2502,2119,19404,221,217,6870,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-533326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-arsenal","tag-champions-league","tag-declan-rice","tag-football","tag-gb","tag-manchester-city-fc","tag-mikel-arteta","tag-pep-guardiola","tag-premier-league","tag-sport","tag-sporting","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}