'I loved her' - Declan Rice opens up on family death after Arsenal beat Burnley

Declan Rice starred in Arsenal’s win over Burnley (Picture: Getty)

Declan Rice dedicated his goal in Arsenal ’s Premier League victory over Burnley to his auntie who he ‘loved to death’.

Goals from Rice and Viktor Gyokeres earned Mikel Arteta ’s side a comfortable 2-0 win over newly-promoted Burnley on Saturday.

The Premier League leaders took the lead inside the opening 15 minutes as £64m summer signing Gyokeres scored his sixth goal for the club.

Rice added Arsenal’s second before half time and during the celebrations fell to his knees while pointing to the sky.

Speaking after the victory at Turf Moor, Rice said his celebration was a tribute to his auntie who recently passed away.

‘My auntie passed away before the Fulham game,’ Rice told Premier League Productions. ‘I loved her to death.

‘She travelled everywhere to watch me with my mum. I know she’s watching down so that was for her today.’

Rice dedicated his goal to his aunt who recently died (Picture: Getty)

On Arsenal’s win over Burnley, who had won their previous two games, Rice added: ‘They’ve maybe lost once in like 18 months.

‘We knew it was going to be tough, so we had to stick to our principles. Our quality shone through and we could have scored four or five in the first half.

‘It’s important we keep scoring goals. Two goals are perfect for us. If you look at the goal as a whole, we’re defending a long throw from our own half.