Wayne Rooney noticed Arsenal’s efforts to get the win against Everton at full-time at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Premier League legend appreciated Arsenal’s win over the Toffees, as the Gunners returned to the top of the table thanks to a 1-0 victory.
Viktor Gyokeres’ penalty was enough for Mikel Arteta’s side to take three points back to North London, heading into the festive period poised at the top of the table.
Though Rooney didn’t think Gyokeres should’ve taken the penalty, the Englishman was more complimentary of another part of Arsenal’s win.
Arsenal are top at Christmas, how sure are you that history won’t repeat itself?
Wayne Rooney loved how tired the Arsenal squad were after beating Everton
Declan Rice blew Rooney away with his performance, earning high praise from the Manchester United legend.
It wasn’t just Rice who impressed Rooney, but the entire squad, as he mentioned on The Wayne Rooney Show.
“What I loved about it is at the end of the game, full-time whistle, the Arsenal players are flat out,” Rooney said.
“They were lying on their backs, you could see them knackered. As a fan, that’s what you want to see from your players. You want to see them giving everything to win the game. The game management towards the end was brilliant.”
Watching on, Rooney thought the way that the players reacted after the full-time whistle was telling of the efforts they put in to win the game.
Interestingly, it’s not the first time that Arsenal’s actions at the end of games have been spoken about this season.
Given that Thierry Henry wasn’t a fan of how the Arsenal players reacted to losing to Aston Villa, Rooney’s feedback for the Gunners this time around was positive.
Rotation is needed against Crystal Palace
Arsenal dug deep to get the win and return to the top of the table, but the reaction at full-time must alert Arteta about what to do next.
Just 72 hours after kick-off at Hill Dickinson, the Gunners return to action against Crystal Palace, and given how tired the squad were at full-time, Arteta must make changes.
What changes would you make to this predicted XI to face Crystal Palace?
With a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-final on the line, the match is important, but not as much as the title race, which must prompt Arteta to rotate his side.
That’s likely to be the case, as Arteta confirmed that Gabriel Jesus could start against Palace, signalling one tweak to the starting lineup.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast, not eased by the fact that every match holds so much importance.
It’s time for Arteta to put his vast squad depth to use and rest those who left everything on the pitch against Everton.
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