Declan Rice angrily confronts Gabriel after Arsenal see title hopes burn out at Forest
A frustrated Declan Rice confronted Arsenal team-mate Gabriel after the Gunners were held to a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, leaving them 13 points adrift of leaders Liverpool
Declan Rice angrily confronted Arsenal team-mate Gabriel after they were held to a goalless draw by Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
The Gunners are now 13 points adrift of Liverpool in the Premier League title race, though they do have a game in hand over the Reds. But in truth, their title hopes are over having been burnt out at the City Ground.
Mikel Arteta's side came into the game on the back of a dreadful defeat to West Ham on Saturday. And they drew a blank once again in the East Midlands, as the Londoners continue to struggle without a recognised striker.
With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both sidelined for the season, more emphasis has been placed on set-pieces, which Rice usually takes. But the Englishman consistently failed to deliver for his team-mates against Forest, with his last-gasp attempt at a free-kick on the stroke of full-time hitting the first man.
Rice was clearly frustrated at full-time and struggled to contain his angry. He approached Gabriel after the final whistle and was spotted gesturing and shouting at the Brazilian, in footage screened on TNT Sports.
It is unknown why the midfielder specifically sought out Gabriel for the confrontation, with the defender failing to react to his angry team-mate. Boss Arteta was also frustrated with the result, though praised his side for their performance.
"[We showed] unquestionable character, how much wanted it and tried. We dominated the game. We tried in many different ways. We insisted but lacked that spark, that final pass to unlock a well organised team. We have to generate more shots on target," he told BBC Sport.
"Very different standard [to the West Ham defeat]. We defended with energy, purpose, fight, willingness to make things happen. It wasn’t because we lacked that. We tried until the end but weren’t able to do it.
"It was same a week ago, two weeks ago, three months ago. The only thing we can do is win our matches and see how many points we get. It doesn’t feel good. We’re here to win."
Arteta's disappointment was echoed by winger Leandro Trossard, who insisted the Gunners need to improve going forward. He told TNT Sports: "We played well today, we were dominant throughout the whole game today. But the goals happen in the box. We defended really well but up top we need to create more.
"The effort is there, but one moment it needs to click again and then the goals will come. It's hard to find a solution but we just need to keep pushing. We know with the players who are out we need to find solutions. That's up to everyone. I don't think it's about effort, today we played quite well. Hopefully it will click soon.
"We are a good group. There's no magic ingredient, we just need to keep going. You always have to believe but I don't think we need to look ahead, we just need to keep thinking about the next game."
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