Declan Rice’s error spotlights questions over Arsenal’s leaders after Spurs rout
declan Rice’s uncharacteristic lapse in the North London Derby and the fallout from pundits have become a focal point after Arsenal’s 4-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The moment — and the wider discussion about calmness and old-school leadership — matters as Arsenal press a title bid amid fresh scrutiny of the dressing room’s senior figures.
Declan’s error, the equaliser and the quick response
Rice was dispossessed while trying to dribble out from the edge of his own area, an error that allowed Randal Kolo Muani to run into the box and slam the ball past David Raya to level the game. The equaliser arrived almost immediately: one account places the turnover and goal within 24 seconds of the restart. After the mistake, declan apologised to his team-mates, and Arsenal ultimately recovered to win 4-1.
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt trade views on calmness and leadership
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes said Rice “almost looks too emotional” and suggested the team needs more calmness from senior players when chasing a league title. Scholes contrasted that temperament with the calm he associated with Roy Keane when leading a team.
Nicky Butt — a former Manchester United and England midfielder — said he believes Rice is “a big leader” but raised a separate concern: when the mistake happened “not one Arsenal player had a go at him. ” Butt listed examples of old-school leaders — Martin Keown, Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona — and questioned who in the current Arsenal squad would push team-mates in the same way. Scholes added: “We want to see emotion, but it has to be in the right way. ” The pair discussed the episode on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
How the derby unfolded: scorers, comeback and context
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a lashed finish that prompted a joyful Arsenal huddle, and Viktor Gyökeres and Eze each finished with two goals as Arsenal dominated the second half. Randal Kolo Muani’s leveller came in that frantic late first-half spell, but Gyökeres’ two second-half strikes pushed the score to 4-1. The result followed Arsenal’s midweek capitulation at Wolves and left the Gunners with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who had beaten Newcastle 2-1 24 hours earlier.
Gyökeres’ double, his season numbers and impact on Kai Havertz
Viktor Gyökeres scored twice, producing a first-half shot that flashed past the far post after cutting inside Radu Dragusin and then, at the start of the second half, burying a 20-yard strike past Vicario after being given five yards to control. His second was followed by a run down the inside-left channel in which he shrugged aside Archie Gray to finish and make it 4-1.
Gyökeres’ first Premier League season is described as not a success: in all competitions he has 15 goals and two assists in a little under 26 matches’ worth of playing time, he has scored in seven of 26 league appearances, and he has produced only one goal and three shots on target against the other sides currently in the top half. The signing has, commentators say, massively enhanced the centre-forward reputation of the persistently injured Kai Havertz. One analysis argued that if Gyökeres faced Radu Dragusin every week he would be rivaling Rice in Player of the Year stakes.
Rice’s preparation, Gerrard comparison and longer patterns of concern
Before the match Rice had given an interview on Sky in which he spoke of his admiration for Steven Gerrard and of aiming to become the best all-round midfielder in the mould of Gerrard for a few years. In the immediate celebration after Eze’s opener, Rice repeatedly pointed to his temple to urge team-mates to focus, citing recent instances when Arsenal had conceded within minutes of scoring against Brentford and Wolves.
Some commentators compared the sequence to Gerrard’s famous slip that let Demba Ba in during the 2014 title race; Rice was noted as nearly seven years younger than Gerrard had been that day, and rather than lashing out with wild attempts to make amends, Rice focused afterwards on winning battles, dominating the centre and trusting colleagues to get the goals.
Club defensive pattern and a 2026 statistic
The turnover in the derby fed into a wider concern: Mikel Arteta’s side have conceded 10 times within ten minutes of scoring across all competitions in 2026 alone. That pattern — and the perception that the squad lacks the type of grab-you-by-the-collar leaders Butt and Scholes evoked — has become central to the debate sparked by the North London Derby, as Arsenal seek consistency on the way to the title race. The report of Gyökeres as “Primeira Liga Gyökeres in full flow, as Arsenal charged to their biggest away” is unclear in the provided context.
