Can’t believe we had a free run at him. Legit. I owe him a apology. Clubs wasting time with players who played half a season. Having the quality matters.
Thought he was the best player on the park. It wasn’t the kind of game where the eight can impact the game. Odegaard was a workhorse today as were Silva and Foden.
It would be a fair criticism to suggest he didnt offer loads going forward but his impact on the game was huge
If not Martinelli scored the winner, Rice would be the MOTM
For most midfielders they’d be happy to take the foul and the yellow. Some wouldn’t even be able to make a challenge at all. The fact he comes away with the ball cleanly underlines his ability.
Rice >>>>>>> Caicedo+lavia
It’s just lovely to have that combo of ball winning quality and work rate in the middle of the park.
Kinda reminds me of prime Kante (the most recent example).
Just gives you a lot of options in midfield (in the attacking sense) when you have a guy who is able to win the ball all over the pitch and to do it so often.
No fucking doubt he is the next England skipper…
Oh wait… Southgate is the manager???
He’s always been better than Partey since last season, it’s taken 10 games for people to acknowledge he’s a more impactful more dynamic and efficient midfielder than Partey was in an Arsenal shirt
Partey literally changed the game when he came on and played a huge part in us winning the game in the end.
We can appreciate both. Partey was excellent for us the previous two seasons when he was available. Last season it was between him and Rodri as the best pivot in the game.
Kudos to the club for getting Partey’s heir this summer while also keeping Partey himself and giving us the option to play them together.
See how City’s midfield collapses without Rodri.
Rice and Saliba were immense today, but for me Rice just edged it and was my MOTM. Rice was always going to be a transformational signing for us, but to be playing this well so early in his Arsenal career is massive. Worked really well with Jorginho and Partey when he came on. I absolutely love this guy and can’t wait to see him become one of the top players in the PL.
No way that can be quantified. We were the best team in the league for large periods and Partey was a huge reason why this was the case.
Rice is definitely better at cloding doen spaces and winning the ball, Partey is better in possession though.
He might have been a recent signing but, unlike Havertz, there was very little risk with Rice.
He’s a proven top quality player and has the ambition to match his ability so we’re the perfect club for him.
We’ve lacked a midfielder with his influence and winning mentality since Cesc and Vieira were here.
He’s got no weak links to his game and rarely gets injured which means he’s one of the biggest upgrades we’ve seen at the club.
So along with Partey, Odegaard and Jorginho, we’ve got arguably the strongest midfield depth of quality in the PL, which is something we’ve lacked for far too long.
He’s been really good for us already in patches this season thus far but today seeing him drive forward was amazing
The biggest credit to him is that he made everyone forget about the money Arsenal spent on him within weeks.
Let’s not pretermit that he’s coming from a team that played a completely different style of football. And that is similar with the national team too.
The way he has acclimatized so quickly is so impressive and that’s probably his best quality. The way he can do so many different jobs and can understand the game.
A special player that Arteta deemed a priority in the summer. A player that he perhaps has been eyeing for some time and that resulted in us holding off in previous windows with Arthur, Locatelli, Tielemans, Douglas Luiz, Bruno Guimaraes, etc.
This is only the beginning, which is frightening. Arteta is gonna turn him into an absolute monster.
I want Ricetey and the skipper in a 4-3-3 every game.
Havertz and Jesus the strikers. We can’t seriously keep starting Eddie.
Um sorry mate but no.
Rice has played very well in 4/5 games so far and was a beast yesterday but Partey is still the fucking king in midfield.
I mean, they’re both brilliant and now Partey is fit we can boss pretty much any midfield battle we want if we so choose by playing both of them.
Partey, Rice, Jorginho when all fit, could and should be in contention for every game.
In any combination, with Ode up top we have arguably the best midfield in the premier league. Only City’s KDB, + Rodri beats that when fit.