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Declan Rice has revealed the reasons behind his Arsenal goalscoring celebration against Burnley on Saturday, following the passing of beloved family member.
Rice scored the Gunners' second in their 2-0 win at Turf Moor with a powerful header on 35 minutes.
And after scoring, the England midfielder kneeled to the turf and pointed his hands to the heavens in tribute to his late auntie, Bev.
Speaking post-match, Rice paid tribute to his auntie who has been a staunch supporter of his career.
'My auntie passed away before the Fulham game. 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.'
Declan Rice (right) has revealed why he did the above for a goalscoring celebration at Burnley
It was in tribute to his auntie Bev, who sadly passed away just over a fortnight ago
Rice watches on as his header flies towards the Burnley goal to double Arsenal's lead
Arsenal won 1-0 at Fulham on October 18, a match that Rice played in, meaning she sadly passed just over a fortnight ago.
Rice took to Instagram too after beating Burnley to underline his love for his aunt.
Sharing a picture of them hugging at the Emirates Stadium, he accompanied it with the caption: 'That was for you today Bev, I know you are looking down on me! Love you forever.' It also included a love-heart emoji.
Saturday's victory sees Arsenal move on to 25 points from 10 matches in the Premier League and extend their winning run to nine in all competitions. They'll look to make it 10 in a row on Tuesday when they travel to Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Speaking about his own form and the team's, Rice put it down to their sheer focus.
'I'm so focused on and off the pitch. Every weekend I know how important it is to win football matches,' he told the club's official website.
'I realise the position we're in and what we can achieve as a club. So I'm doing everything I can, on and off the pitch, to prepare myself and prepare the team to win football matches.
'We always have one goal in this team this season and that's to deliver for the fans, for each other and we're going to keep trying to do that. One game at a time. I'm very happy with where my game's at.
Rice points to the heavens in a touching tribute to his aunt during Arsenal's 2-0 win at Burnley
Rice played in their 1-0 win at Arsenal - just days after his auntie Bev had died
'First half, we were very, very good. Could have been three or four. Second half wasn't our best performance, but showed that other side of the game where we can be resilient, where we can defend for our lives and it really means something by not letting the ball go in the back of our net.
'We've really got that unity and togetherness, not wanting to concede, that's winning us games as well as our attacking threat. It was a game of two halves, but in the end, three points is all that matters. We get home now and recover, ready for Tuesday.'
