Mikel Arteta has hailed Declan Rice as one of the best midfielders in the world after playing a starring role in Arsenal’s 3-2 win at Bournemouth.
Rice’s second-half brace wrestled control of a tight game in the Gunners’ favour after Evanilson had opened the scoring in the 10th minute from a mistake by Gabriel Magalhães, who atoned by scoring the equaliser six minutes later.
Junior Kroupi’s long-range 76th-minute strike set up a tense finale but Arsenal hung on to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham in 2023 for a club-record £105 million ($141.4m) fee and has evolved his game as a number eight having previously played in a more defensive midfield role.
Asked if the 26-year-old had evolved into one of the game’s finest midfielders, Arteta said: “Yes, for me. For me, the ones that we have are the best and Declan is constantly adding things to his game, constantly adding things to his role in the team and I don’t see where he can stop because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve. He is such a pivotal player for us.”
Arteta also cited Gabriel’s recovery from his early error — gifting Evanilson possession on the edge of his own box — as an important moment in his team’s growth alongside Rice shaking off a swollen knee to play the full 90 minutes at Vitality Stadium.
“I really love today the next step of the team in terms of individual personality and presence,” he said.
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“I think what Gabi Magalhaes has done after making a big mistake to concede the goal, the way he reacted to that, the way he played afterwards, the way he transmitted energy after that, it was remarkable. And Declan, another one.
“Every hour for him was important to be able to be available today. We didn’t know for how long, so in the manner that he competed, played and on top of that scored two goals, I think it was outstanding and a really big message for the team.”
