Declan Rice and Mikel Arteta had very different responses when asked if they'd be watching Man City vs Wolves later

Declan Rice and Mikel Arteta revealed how they would spend their Saturday night ahead of Manchester City's crunch clash against Wolves – and they couldn't be more different.

Arsenal piled the pressure on title rivals City with a relatively straightforward 3-0 win over Bournemouth, as goals from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice sealed all three points.

Rice, who has been a standout performer for Mikel Arteta's side since his £105 million move from West Ham last summer, was awarded the Player of the Match award for his efforts against the Cherries.

And after Saturday's full-time whistle, the England international was asked if he would be watching the 5:30pm kick-off between Manchester City and Wolves.

"No. I'm not going to watch," he told beIN Sports. "To be honest with you, I haven't been watching games from others teams for the past few months because I don't want to put too much energy into that."

He added: "I want to focus on what we do and how we can affect games."

Arteta, on the other hand, was far more comfortable with watching their title rivals in action. “Yes, I will be there sitting with my kids and my family in my comfy pyjamas," he laughed.

The Gunners currently sit four points ahead of reigning champions City, who have two games in hand over their nearest rivals.

In the build-up to this weekend's action, Arteta said he hadn't given up hope.

"In my heart and in my soul… this is what I am hoping for, yes," the Spaniard told reporters when asked if Pep Guardiola's side will drop points in the coming weeks.

"You know what is going on [with my emotions]. You just want to win and to win you need others to drop points and you are hoping for that to happen.

"And then [after City win] you have to manage your emotion, because it doesn’t matter what happens on that day."

Image credit: Getty

He added: "There are still a lot of games and points to play for. You are going to have to perform, prepare and win the next match in order to maintain that momentum. This is what we are trying to do."

Topics: Mikel Arteta, Declan Rice, Arsenal, Premier League, Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_