HIGHLIGHTS : Arsenal aren’t a one-man team! Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli help Gunners set crazy Premier League scoring record against Luton (3-4)

HIGHLIGHTS : Arsenal aren’t a

Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli found the net against Luton Town to help Arsenal set a rare Premier League scoring record.

Luton 3-4 Arsenal: Declan Rice strikes late as Gunners edge seven-goal thriller to go five clear at top of Premier League
Report and free match highlights as Arsenal left it late to edge Luton to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League; Declan Rice’s last-gasp header deep in injury time sparked wild Arsenal celebrations after they had been pushed all the way by a spirited Luton performance

Declan Rice struck with a last-gasp header to break Luton hearts and send Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 4-3 victory for Mikel Arteta’s team at Kenilworth Road.

The Gunners looked to be missing out on the chance to extend their lead over Liverpool and Man City after a battling display from Luton, but Rice’s header 23 seconds into the seventh minute of a minimum of six additional minutes sparked dramatic celebrations amongst the Arsenal fans and players.

Rice, speaking after the game, described it as a big moment in Arsenal’s season.

“Luton are a top side, they can no way be overlooked in this league because of the quality they’ve got,” Rice

said.

“They made us pay tonight [Tuesday] with set pieces, us being sloppy at the back but for us to score last minute and keep that momentum building is massive for us in this season.”

How the teams lined

Luton went toe to toe with the league leaders in the early stages, but Arsenal pounced after Thomas Kaminski had to kick the ball out of play following a poor back pass, Bukayo Saka teeing up Gabriel Martinelli for the 20th-minute opener to undo all the home side’s good early work.

All was not lost for Luton, though, and they responded five minutes later through Gabriel Osho’s header to lift the noise levels at Kenilworth Road once again.

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Declan Rice celebrates after scoring a late winner at Kenilworth Road

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Declan Rice celebrates after scoring a late winner at Kenilworth Road

However, Arteta’s side quietened the atmosphere once again on the stroke of half-time as Gabriel Jesus headed home from close range to restore the visitors’ lead.

David Raya was once again in the spotlight early in the second half as his errors allowed Luton to turn the game on its head with goals from Elijah Adebayo (49) and Ross Barkley (57), but Arsenal found a response through Kai Havertz on the hour mark to bring the game level again.

There was plenty of time left for a winner and Arsenal’s dominance grew, but roared on by the home fans, Rob Edwards’ side looked to be heading for a valuable point but Rice’s heroics broke Luton’s resistance and kept his side’s title challenge firmly on track.

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How Rice broke Luton hearts…

Declan Rice heads in the winner for Arsenal

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Rice headed in the winner for Arsenal deep into added time

Arteta was expecting a physical battle with the Gunners boss going for the size and strength of Jakub Kiwior and Kai Havertz over Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard. A physical contest was exactly what Arsenal got as Luton more than held their own against the league leaders in what was a bright start for the home side.

However, a poor back pass to Thomas Kaminski forced the goalkeeper to kick the ball out of play. Jesus quickly retrieved the ball before taking a swift throw-in to Saka, who got into the area. The England winger, making his 200th Arsenal appearance, raced to the byline and pulled the ball back for Martinelli to sweep home into the bottom left corner, undoing all Luton’s good early work.

Player ratings

Luton: Kaminski (7), Osho (7), Barkley (8), Adebayo (7), Kabore (7), Mengi (7), Mpanzu (6), Brown (6), Bell (7), Townsend (7), Doughty (7).

Subs used: Morris (6), Chong (6), Ogbene (6), Clark (n/a), Giles (n/a).

Arsenal: Raya (4), White (7), Saliba (6), Gabriel (6), Kiwior (6), Rice (8), Odegaard (7), Havertz (7), Saka (7), Jesus (8), Martinelli (7).

Subs used:

Player of the match: Ross Barkley.

Roared on by the home fans, Luton responded quickly as the Gunners’ lead lasted just four minutes and 40 seconds. Alfie Doughty’s out-swinging corner picked out Osho, who ghosted in behind Jesus and the defender thumped a perfect header into the left corner of the net.

The game had burst into life and there was now space for Arsenal to run into as Luton needed Kaminski to deny Jesus, Martinelli and Saka in quick succession.

Team news headlines

Rob Edwards made four changes to his Luton team that lost 3-1 at Brentford on the weekend. Elijah Adebayo came in to start up front with Jacob Brown and Andros Townsend on either side of him. The other change saw Alfie Doughty return from injury to start. Tom Lockyer, Chiedozie Ogbene, Carlton Morris and Tahith Chong made way.

Mikel Arteta made three changes from the side that beat Wolves 2-1 at the weekend. It was all change at full-back as Ben White and Jakub Kiwior replaced Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Kai Havertz was also included and replaced Leandro Trossard. Bukayo Saka made his 200th Arsenal appearance.

But he had no chance of stopping Arsenal regaining the lead just before the break as Jesus headed home Ben White’s inviting cross from close range for just his second Premier League goal of the season.

The break worked for Luton and they came out with renewed energy, and the hosts got their reward with a helping hand from Raya. It was another moment to forget for the Arsenal goalkeeper as he was beaten in the air by Adebayo as Luton pegged back the Gunners again.

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David Raya is beaten in the air by Elijah Adebayo who heads in to make it 2-2

Luton turned the game on its head in the 57th minute when Raya let Barkley’s shot through him to hand the hosts the lead for the first time in the game, but three minutes later Havertz was picked out by Jesus before the former Chelsea player provided a smart finish to continue his scoring form and bring the scores level again.

Arsenal started to dominate the game again with wave after wave of attacks, but Luton defended resolutely and even looked a threat on the counter-attack on occasions.

The home fans roared one more time as the fourth official put a minimum of six additional minutes up on the board, willing their side to a point, but Rice popped up 23 seconds into the seventh minute of added time to add to the belief that this could be Arsenal’s year.

FPL stats – Luton vs Arsenal

Goals: Adebayo, Osho, Barkley | Havertz, Jesus, Martinelli, Rice

Assists: Doughty (2), Townsend | Jesus, Odegaard, Saka, White

Bonus points: Jesus (3), Rice (2), Doughty (1)

‘A big moment in our season’

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Rice celebrates scoring Arsenal’s winner in the seventh minute of additional time

Arsenal matchwinner Declan Rice:

“Luton are a top side, they can no way be overlooked in this league because of the quality they’ve got. They made us pay tonight [Tuesday] with set pieces, us being sloppy at the back but for us to score last minute and keep that momentum building is massive for us in this season.

“You have to take it every day as it comes. I wasn’t here last year when they were eight points clear, we have worked a lot as a group with me coming in here now and understanding the team. We have to worry about us, not anyone else and just keep doing what the manager wants, ticking the game off and getting the three points.