Although it’s still early in the season, the past week’s events have made it feel like the title run-in has already begun, with Mikel Arteta’s side are already displaying a mix of determination and desperation.
The team’s desire to dethrone Manchester City and win their first championship since 2004 is palpable, but it comes with a high emotional cost for the players, who must also cope with the physical demands of competing in four tournaments.
Arsenal’s next challenge comes in the form of Paris Saint-Germain, another high-stakes match that will test their mettle.
In their previous match against Leicester, the team’s emotional state shifted from confidence to fear when they surrendered a two-goal lead, but Rice and his teammates managed to regroup and secure a crucial win.
Rice acknowledged the immense pressure to perform at Arsenal, saying: “The anxiety’s through the roof because you know the pressure of playing for Arsenal, you have to win every game.
“If you want to win Premier Leagues and cups and titles and compete at the top, you need to be at your best and you need to win otherwise the pressure mounts. When that second goal went in for them, obviously one thought is we can’t lose this game, we have to keep going. At the end it was like a sigh of relief because we won.
“That was probably the most comfortable we’ve been in the first half all season in terms of passing and dominating the ball. So there’s lots of positives to take but still so much to improve on and as the season goes on, I’m sure you’re going to keep seeing the best of us.”
The match was deep into added time when Wilfried Ndidi’s own goal and a Kai Havertz tap in delivered a victory which looked to have been sealed after Gabriel Martinelli bagged his first goal since March then set-up Leandro Trossard to double the lead in first-half injury time.
There will be those who argue that title contenders don’t allow James Justin to score with a deflected header from a free-kick then a sweetly struck far-post volley. But after 2-2 home draws against Fulham and Tottenham in their opening six games last season, Rice believes the mental strength to find a way to win has been dialled up.
He added: “Look, we always believe in what we do. That comes from the manager that we keep pushing. We’ve got a set of lads on the pitch who are ready to do anything to win.”
For the third league game running, the Gunners’ go ahead goal came via a corner, with Rice defending his side’s controversial use of blocking.
He added: “There’s always going to be conversations about us blocking and us making fouls, but the goals we’ve scored from set pieces this season, I don’t think there’s been one foul in there. I think sometimes people look for a foul or people mention that we’re cheating in a way on set pieces because we’re blocking, but it’s part of the game. Teams do it to us and we’re just trying to exploit other teams’ weaknesses. We found a way to do that today.”