Declan Rice to blame Arsenal stars for Premier League title defeat amid frustrating reveal
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Credit: Imago Thu 26 February 2026 17:00, UK Arsenal should still have a significant lead in the Premier League title race, with Declan Rice continuing to star in North London.In the top tier of English football, only two of Rice‘s teammates have more goal contributions this season – Viktor Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard – while Bukayo Saka is tied with him on eight.At one point, it had looked as though the Gunners would run away with the league title, having a nine-point lead on second place, but that has been reduced to six points ahead of the weekend’s action.That is not taking into account the fact that both Man City and Aston Villa have a game in hand each, while Mikel Arteta‘s side have yet to travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on the Citizens.With just a few games remaining, the title race is well and truly heating up.Read more: This is why “huge” ticketing demands will continue to rise at Arsenal.Declan Rice continues to come up with the goods at ArsenalFootball fans up and down the Premier League have predicted for the Gunners to fall at the final hurdle, with many even predicting an upset in the North London derby, only for Arsenal to win 4-1. MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES An upcoming test against Chelsea on Sunday, 1 March, will really throw the cat amongst the pigeons, and if Arteta’s players are to go all the way, they must stop missing so many big chances.According to Squawka, Rice has created more big chances than any other Premier League player across all competitions, 21, but just eight assists to his name, and just four in the league.He has created 13 big chances in the Premier League, notching just four assists, and those kinds of missed opportunities are what could cost the Gunners the title to Man City again.Read more: Arsenal warned of “ramifications” over Bukayo Saka’s record-breaking new deal.Arsenal duo’s missed chances could lose the Premier League titleDefence is where Arsenal thrive, of course.
But Gyokeres and Saka have missed eight big chances each, Jurrien Timber with seven, and Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli on six.That is more than enough reason for Rice to blame his teammates if the Gunners slip up in the Premier League title race, especially with nobody at the club boasting above 10 goals.The obvious argument will be that Erling Haaland has missed a whopping 22 big chances, but with 22 goals scored, that can quickly be squashed as to why City are in the driving seat now.Arteta and his players will be absolutely crushed if they lose the Premier League title race yet again, but at the moment, it seems like Man City’s trophy to lose.