Mikel Arteta has singled out Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice for praise after his side earned a point at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
Arsenal were way below their best on Saturday evening and found themselves 2-0 down early in the second half at Chelsea.
Cole Palmer opened the scoring inside 15 minutes as he slotted away a penalty after William Saliba was judged to have handled the ball in the area.
The Gunners struggled in the first half and were hit with a huge blow right after half time as Mykhaylo Mudryk caught David Raya off his line and doubled Chelsea’s advantage.
But Declan Rice got Arsenal back into the game as he pounced on a mistake from Robert Sanchez before producing a brilliant finish from range.
Leandro Trossard bagged a late equaliser after some exceptional work down the right-hand side from Bukayo Saka.
Yet, it was Rice who stole the show once again for Arsenal and it’s fair to say that Mikel Arteta was impressed with his performance.
Mikel Arteta lauds Declan Rice after Chelsea vs Arsenal
Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Arteta was asked about Rice’s display and the Arsenal boss was full of praise for the midfielder.
“He was brilliant again, I thought he had a really good game,” he said. “I think when we dropped him to the No6 position, he increased the level and really gave the team a different dynamism as well.
“He scored a really important goal as well to give us belief in that moment of the game.”
Rice has arguably been Arsenal’s standout performer so far this season and he’s proving to be worth every penny of the £105 million the Gunners paid to sign him.
The 24-year-old has even popped up with a couple of goals this season and put in yet another commanding display at Chelsea yesterday.
The Englishman will undoubtedly continue to improve under Arteta’s guidance too and Arsenal fans should be excited about what Rice could achieve in North London.