Declan Rice reveals emotional inspiration for Arsenal goal celebration vs Burnley

Arsenal star Declan Rice has revealed that he gestured towards the heavens whilst celebrating his goal against Burnley as a tribute to his beloved late aunt.

The Gunners midfielder dedicated his strike to his relative following her passing prior to Arsenal's fixture against Fulham in October. Rice's auntie was a devoted supporter of the footballer, journeying across the country to watch her nephew's exploits.

The England international's mind immediately turned to her when he found the net against the Clarets. Rice nodded home from Leandro Trossard's delivery as the Gunners executed a clinical counter-attack to double their advantage after Viktor Gyokeres' opening goal, reports the Mirror.

• Emirates Stadium name change timeline emerges amid Arsenal expansion plans
• Mikel Arteta told Bukayo Saka luxury at Arsenal now amid Arsene Wenger reminder

The 26-year-old explained his skyward celebration following Arsenal's triumph at Turf Moor.

He said: "My auntie passed away before the Fulham game. I loved her to death. Travelled everywhere to watch me with my mum. I know she's watching down so that was for her today."

Rice feels he channelled the instincts of a classic centre-forward as his team inflicted a rare home reverse upon Scott Parker's side. However, the midfielder also believes that Arsenal could have been even more ruthless in the opening half.

He 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. Big Gabby [Gabriel] wins the ball and I keep running with the ball. I was like a traditional number nine!".

Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Rice's performance on Saturday afternoon, citing how his player stepped up when it mattered most.

He said: "He won I don't know how many balls and tackles. It's the evolution of a player."

Arteta also had high words of praise for his team's overall performance, especially in the first half. He said: "The first half was exceptional, we scored two goals and gave nothing away.

"That was the platform. We had to make a few changes and didn't have that much control in the second half.

"Defending was exceptional again, we didn't give anything. There is a reason they have lost one game in 18 months here, against Liverpool in the last second of the game."