Arsenal were once known for their wastefulness under Sven Mislintat - but this season's recruitment has been spot on, but as questionable as some of the decisions were it should not detract from what was another highly polished performance from Mikel Arteta’s side.boosted his tallies for both goals and assists in the second half, and David Raya claimed another clean sheet to secure the Golden Glove award.
Nobody is debating the value of those deals now. Rice was the game’s best player despite having a mixed first half in which he failed to make the most of a counter-attack and missed a glorious chance to open the scoring. and a goal that summed him up to a tee: a crisp finish following a lung-busting run into the box in the 97th minute of the game with Arsenal already 2-0 up.
Rice has 15 direct goal involvements in the league this season, which is nine more than he managed in his most productive campaign for the Hammers in 2022-23. “He was unbelievable today, honestly,” Arteta said. “Everything he did: the timings, the movements, how he keeps the ball, the way he goes to the press, how he links play, his understanding of the game.”