Arteta reveals the injury status of Arsenal's midfield maestro

Manager Mikel Arteta has given the latest on Declan Rice's injury while the English midfielder was absent from Arsenal’s win against Aston Villa.

Declan Rice was not included in the squad list for the 4–1 victory over Aston Villa in the 19th round of the Premier League due to a knee injury. This result allowed Arsenal to extend their lead at the top of the table to 5 points.

When asked if the English midfielder would be able to play in Arsenal’s upcoming away match at Bournemouth this weekend, Mikel Arteta said: “It depends; the swelling must completely go down before he can move normally. Today, he couldn’t do that yet, but he is making progress. Let’s wait and see how things develop over the next few days.”

Previously, Rice sustained a knee injury during the victory against Brighton in round 18. Nevertheless, the 1999-born star played the full 90 minutes, which likely worsened his injury and forced him to miss the most recent match.

So far this season, Rice has appeared in a total of 26 matches across all competitions for the "Gunners," scoring 2 goals and providing 5 assists, while remaining a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s lineup. Rice’s solidity in midfield has been crucial in helping the London club lead both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, positioning them well to compete for titles this season.

Back to the match, Arsenal stunned Aston Villa with two goals within just 4 minutes. Capitalizing on a fumble by Emiliano Martinez, Gabriel, making his first start since a hamstring injury on November 18, seized the opportunity to score from Bukayo Saka’s corner, followed by a goal from Martin Zubimendi.

Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus added further goals, ending Aston Villa’s 11-match winning streak and increasing the gap between the two teams to 6 points.

After the game, Arteta said: “I am very happy. We struggled in the first 10 minutes, started slowly, and gave them dangerous spaces. After that, we adjusted and controlled the game better. Our pressing improved significantly. We made better decisions, and the goals came in a very special way; everything we did was effective.

Unlike recent matches where we had many chances, today we took our opportunities very well and with precision to make the difference.”

Following the win over Aston Villa, Arsenal will prepare for their away trip to Bournemouth in round 20 this weekend.