Arsenal shelled out a club-record fee of £105 million to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United in the recent summer transfer window. The 24-year-old is already living up to his price tag.
Rice produced another outstanding performance in the middle of the park as Arsenal secured a 1-0 win against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The 24-year-old was rock solid for the Gunners in the middle of the park, and as the game went on his influence only became more pronounced. Mikel Arteta’s side nullified Manchester City’s attacking threat, taming them to the extent that they managed just four shots in the match, only one of which was on target.
Rice played a huge part in keeping Pep Guardiola’s side at bay. According to WhoScored statistics, the £240,000-a-week star made three tackles and three interceptions. He was also on hand to make a goal-line clearance early on.
Arteta brought Rice to the north London club specifically with huge matches such as this one in mind. That plan looks to be working, as Arsenal finally overcame Manchester City having lost their previous 12 Premier League encounters with them.
The 45-cap England international’s imperious display will give fans hope that the Gunners truly have raised their level this season and can now mount a successful title charge.
Garth Crooks was certainly impressed by what he saw from Rice in this match. He also clearly believes that the midfielder can be at the heart of a new era of success for the club, and push the Gunners to a title, even at the expense of his former club, Tottenham Hotspur. That certainly seems to be Arteta’s plan.
Writing in his Team of the Week column, he said, “there can be no doubt in my mind that Arsenal’s purchase of Declan Rice once again demonstrates the Gunners’ determination to leave no stone unturned to bring the Premier League title to the red part of north London.”
“Tottenham might be sitting pretty at the top of the table on goal difference at the moment, but…Arsenal are in a better position to achieve their objective than their neighbours.”
