Declan: Rooney and Scholes Question declan's Leadership After Arsenal's 4-1 Win

declan Rice's leadership and temperament were under scrutiny after Arsenal beat Tottenham 4-1 on Sunday, following a first-half error that led to Spurs' lone goal. Former captains and columnists weighed in on the derby, and the match itself produced two goals from Viktor Gyökeres that helped seal the victory.

Wayne Rooney says Rice 'wants to win that much' and should compose himself

Wayne Rooney said declan Rice is being hindered by how much he wants to win, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show after Arsenal's north London derby victory. Rooney noted Rice made a mistake for Spurs' equalising goal in the first half and suggested the midfielder's attempt to get the team together immediately after the goal probably highlighted the error.

Rooney said he had watched Rice over the past four weeks getting more animated, and that Rice wants to win so much that sometimes it is not helping him. He urged Rice to take a deep breath and compose himself, calling the observation a compliment and saying the frustration from a bad result is likely "eating him up. "

Paul Scholes labels Rice 'too emotional' and contrasts him with Roy Keane

Paul Scholes said Declan Rice looks "almost too emotional" to be a leader at Arsenal, arguing that when Roy Keane was leading there was a calmness Rice currently lacks. Scholes described Rice as lively — "Come on! Come on! Come on!" — and said that energy is followed by the kind of mistake seen in the derby.

Scholes added that when you are going for a league title there has to be calmness, and said he did not like Rice "geeing up the crowd" just moments before Randal Kolo Muani's goal on Sunday. Scholes conceded he might be harsh but said Rice's mistake was clear as day and that Rice would have apologised to fans and teammates.

How the game unfolded: Eze opener, Rice error, Kolo Muani equaliser and Gyökeres double

Eberechi Eze lashed in Arsenal's first against Tottenham, after which Arsenal players formed a joyful huddle that Rice quickly took over to try to refocus his team. The context for that impulse included Arsenal having conceded within minutes of scoring in their previous two league matches, against Brentford and Wolves.

Fate then struck: Rice gave away the equaliser within 24 seconds of the restart when his poorly judged attempt to dribble in the right-back position gifted the ball to Randal Kolo Muani, who ran into the box and slammed it past David Raya. Viktor Gyökeres then emerged with two goals that helped turn the game into a 4-1 win.

Gyökeres' mixed season and key contributions in the derby

Viktor Gyökeres' first season in the Premier League has not been a success, the record shows. In all competitions he has 15 goals and two assists in a little under 26 matches' worth of playing time, yet he has only scored in seven of 26 league appearances and managed only one goal and three shots on target against other sides currently in the top half.

The assessment in the aftermath was that Gyökeres looks short of the required standard — not fast or powerful enough to compensate for technical limitations — but his signing has massively enhanced the centre-forward reputation of the persistently injured Kai Havertz. In the derby Gyökeres fired a dangerous-looking first-half shot past the far post after cutting inside Radu Dragusin, then at the start of the second half he was given five yards of space, controlled and hit a 20-yard shot that he buried past Vicario. His second goal, after shrugging aside Archie Gray on a run down the inside-left channel, made it 4-1.

Ken Early on Rice's wider standing and the Player of the Year picture

Ken Early argued that if Arsenal go on to win the Premier League title, Declan Rice should probably win Player of the Year, while if Manchester City win it will be hard to look past Erling Haaland. Early added that Haaland will probably finish the season without experiencing the sort of misery Rice suffered in the middle part of the north London derby on Sunday.

Early noted that in the build-up to the game Rice had done an interview with Sky in which he spoke of his admiration for Steven Gerrard and said he aimed to become the best all-round midfielder in the game as Gerrard was. Early wrote that in the high-pressure derby Rice appeared to re-enact Gerrard's worst moment, yet his reaction was more mature: Rice focused on winning his battles, dominating the centre and trusting his teammates to come up with the goals.

Broader context and lingering narratives from the coverage

Commentary around the match also touched on other recent headlines running alongside the discussion: Sri Lanka's collapse against New Zealand to exit the T20 World Cup, Manchester United posting a profit while debt rises to £1. 3bn, UEFA rejecting Benfica's appeal over the Prestianni ban, a widely discussed Bafta-winning documentary, Rosamund Pike joining Romesh in the studio, Squeeze performing alongside a concert orchestra, Bodo/Glimt succeeding against the odds, a profile on Brook as an England leader, debate over whether Spurs are too big to go down, a feature dubbing Mayweather v Pacquiao another boxing 'carnival', and pieces about why a Champions League return is crucial to Manchester United.