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West Ham's Declan Rice says Arsenal goal came after team-mates kept urging him to shoot

Declan Rice celebrates scoring his first goal for West Ham
Image: Declan Rice celebrates scoring the first goal of his career

Declan Rice revealed how his West Ham team-mates have been urging him to try his luck in front of goal after he finally opened his account against Arsenal.

Rice, who turns 20 on Monday, grabbed his first career goal on his 55th appearance for the Hammers.

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Highlights from West Ham's 1-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League.

It was a decisive strike as he tucked away Samir Nasri's lay-off three minutes after half-time to secure a 1-0 win in front of a record crowd of 59,946 at the London Stadium.

"I can't put it into words," Rice told the club's website. "I think you could see on my face how much it meant to me.

Declan Rice his goal celebrates with team-mates
Image: Rice was mobbed by his team-mates after his second-half strike

"And the way the team celebrated, how much it meant to them for me to score as well, as they've all been on at me to score and start shooting more.

"To get the three points, to beat Arsenal and for me to score is unbelievable.

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Manuel Pellegrini says it is important for Samir Nasri to keep playing matches after joining West Ham following his ban from the game

"Samir set it back and I knew I was in the box but I didn't really know where the goal was because I was stood side-on. It was a clean strike, a clean connection and there were a lot of bodies in the way and it went right into the top corner.

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"You could see from the celebration I probably didn't know what to do, but I'm delighted!"

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