Arsenal star Declan Rice reacts to fans singing ‘Rice, Rice, Baby’ at Emirates after win over Bournemouth
Arsenal moved four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with Saturday's 3-0 win over Bournemouth. Declan Rice was decisive in the match as he assisted Leandro Trossard's 70th-minute goal and scored the last goal for his team in the 97th-minute.
The entire Emirates stadium erupted after Arsenal registered its 26th win of the Premier League this season, and fans started singing 'Rice, Rice, Baby' to appreciate Declan Rice for his performance.
In the post-match interview with TNT Sports, Declan Rice was asked about the chant that echoed throughout the Emirates at full-time. With a smile across his cheeks, the English midfielder accepted that the chant always makes him emotional.
“It gets me every time.”
The 'Rice, Rice, Baby' chant has been associated with Declan Rice for some months now. According to Daily Mail, Arsenal players danced to Vanilla Ice's famous song Ice Ice Baby after their 4-3 win over Luton Town in December 2023. This track is closely associated with Declan Rice, who has an advertising campaign with the slogan 'Rice Rice Baby' and also hummed it on the Sky TV show, A League of Their Own.
Since then, fans haven't missed out on an opportunity to use this chant to praise Declan Rice during matches.
Declan Rice scored and assisted in Arsenal's dominating win over Bournemouth
Arsenal registered an authoritative 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Emirates on Saturday (May 4). The Gunners were dominant in the first half and kept on stacking one attack on another. In the 38th minute, Declan Rice missed a golden opportunity from ten yards. He tried to shoot a spinning ball toward the goal, but it went wide.
However, Arsenal had their deserved lead in the dying minutes of the first half, as Bukayo Saka converted a penalty in the 45th minute. Mark Travers conceded the spot-kick, bringing an advancing Kai Havertz down. After a dozen replays, VAR finally awarded the penalty to the Gunners.
The second goal came in the 71st minute as Trossard found a decent finish after Declan Rice provided the perfect assist with a deft touch.
The final goal came in the 97th minute. Declan Rice picked up the ball from the middle of the penalty box and dribbled his way to the right until he found enough room to slot it home.
The Gunners will travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United next week and will face Everton at home for their last two matches in the season. Besides winning them, the Gunners must pray for Manchester City to slip up to win their 14th English league title.