‘Best player on the pitch today’ – Jamie Carragher blown away by ONE Arsenal ace in 1-0 win v Palace – NOT THOMAS PARTEY
Arsenal secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night, with a second-half penalty from Martin Odegaard handing the visitors all three points.
The Gunners were reduced to ten players in the 67th minute after Takehiro Tomiyasu was shown his second yellow card, but they still managed to grab a vital victory to make it two Premier League wins in as many games in 2023-24.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was impressed with the performance of summer signing Declan Rice, showering praise on the England international midfielder during the coverage game on Monday Night Football.
Rice was in top form during his Premier League debut for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, and he put in another great shift against the Eagles.
The 24-year-old was a regular at both final thirds across the 90 minutes and was tireless all through.
Rice completed 54 passes, had 90% pass accuracy, took 68 touches, made four ball recoveries, completed three long balls, won two ground duels, made one key pass and created one big chance.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was desperate to land the former West Ham United captain earlier in the summer transfer window, ensuring his side pipped Manchester City to his services, and it is safe to say that Rice is starting to justify his £105 million fee with the brilliant displays he has put up so far.
Arsenal return to action on Saturday when they take on Fulham at Emirates Stadium, and Arteta will want his men to secure a comfortable victory this time.
It is too early to be struggling for the needed results through marginal victories, and the attackers need to step up and convert their chances.
They can always count on Rice to deliver the goods and continue to excel in a box-to-box role, and the onus is on the forwards to do their job.
Arsenal had lost all four of their Premier League away games played on Monday nights under Arteta before their win tonight, and they will need to keep breaking similar curses going forward and improving every match to boost their chances of winning the title.
