Declan Rice scored against Burnley(Image: Alex Livesey, Getty Images)

Declan Rice described his first half header against Burnley as a "very special goal" as Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win at Turf Moor.

The England midfielder powered home Leandro Trossard’s pin-point cross into the top corner at the end of a clinical first-half counter-attack after Viktor Gyokeres had given them an early lead. Rice told Arsenal’s official website: “Special, very, very special goal.

"Just because of the whole sequence of play, I think my goal might be looked at in terms of the run from me and how I headed it in the back of the net.

“But we’ve defended a long throw from here. Big Gabi’s headed the ball like his life depends on it and then we’ve broken and the whole team reacts to that situation.

“When teams play really, really deep and set against us, these are the best moments to score when they’re open. We took advantage of that and to score a header like a traditional number nine, I was happy.”