'The mentality we need' - Mikel Arteta praises 'remarkable' Gabriel and Declan Rice after Arsenal's Premier League victory over Bournemouth

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Mikel Arteta praised the character of his Arsenal side after they clinched a 3-2 win over Bournemouth to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Gabriel responded to a costly mistake, which led to Bournemouth's opener, by scoring an equaliser six minutes later, while Declan Rice scored a second-half brace, having faced a race against time to be fit for Saturday evening's fixture.

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Mikel Arteta singled out Gabriel and Declan Rice for praise after the pair proved the match winners for Arsenal in a 3-2 comeback victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Evanilson intercepted Gabriel’s wayward pass across the edge of Arsenal’s box before finishing into an empty net to give Bournemouth a 1-0 lead after only 10 minutes.

But Gabriel made amends just six minutes later as he fired Arsenal level, before Rice’s second-half brace sealed victory to take Arteta’s men six clear at the top of the Premier League.

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Speaking at full-time, Arteta told BBC Match of the Day: "It is very different context to the Villa game.

"We put ourselves into a very difficult position with the manner we conceded the first goal, but what Gabriel has done was remarkable; he showed leadership and unity.

"We then grew into the game and scored two great goals."

He added: "We will learn from the first goal we conceded. It is the quality of the opposition and sometimes you have to applaud that."

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Rice missed Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Aston Villa in midweek with a knee issue and was a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, having not trained until Friday.

But the England midfielder was fit to start, and his contribution on the south coast was vital, with his pair of strikes in the space of 17 second-half minutes giving Arsenal a two-goal advantage before Eli Junior Kroupi halved Bournemouth’s deficit 14 minutes from time.

Given the doubts over Rice’s fitness, Arteta was delighted with the character shown by the 26-year-old.

"Declan Rice was struggling the last few days, but pushed and pushed and pushed and made himself available," the Arsenal boss said.

"He played 96 minutes, scored two goals and was one of the best players on the pitch. That is the mentality we need from all of us.

"The ones who came in did really well, that is what we need. All of the players are really consistent and it was against a team difficult to beat."

After scoring his first Premier League brace, Rice said: "I have been in situations before where I have scored one in a game and wanted to score another, and it hasn't happened, but now it has.

"We are going to need everyone chipping in at different points, so I'm happy to help the team."

Arsenal’s victory has given them a six-point advantage over Aston Villa in second, while they are seven in front of Manchester City ahead of their home game with Chelsea on Sunday.

But Arteta is wary of complacency, with 18 games left to play. "We are still in January, we have nine games this month, so we will play game-by-game," he said.

Arsenal are back in action in the league on Thursday, as Liverpool make the trip to north London, looking to complete the double over Arteta’s side.

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