Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta labelled Declan Rice's display against Manchester United "tremendous" as the Gunners came from behind to beat the Red Devils 3-1 in an Emirates thriller.
With Thomas Partey absent due to a groin injury, Rice started as the deepest of Arsenal's midfield trio, with Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard operating further up the pitch.
Arteta's side enjoyed more forays forward in the first half, but they were hit with a sucker-punch in the 27th minute, as Marcus Rashford found the net following a rapid counter-attack.
The Red Devils' lead barely lasted two minutes, though, as Odegaard immediately drew Arsenal level, but the Gunners were otherwise content to let Erik ten Hag's charges knock the ball around in their defensive third.
The hosts continued to ask questions of the Man United backline after the break, but after a penalty on Havertz was overturned, Arsenal briefly thought that Alejandro Garnacho had propelled the visitors into the lead with 88 minutes on the clock.
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However, the attacker's goal was ruled out for a marginal offside, and in the sixth minute of injury time, a deep Bukayo Saka corner to the back post was chested down by Rice, whose strike took a deflection and beat Andre Onana at his near post.
The Englishman's maiden goal for the club sparked scenes of pandemonium at the Emirates, and Gabriel Jesus would remove any shred of doubt over the outcome of the match with a composed finish to make it 3-1 a few minutes later.
When asked about Rice's display in his post-game press conference, Arteta praised the 24-year-old's all-around performance in the number six role, and he believes that the ex-West Ham United captain has struck a fine balance between being "demanding" and having "banter" with his teammates.
"I think a tremendous performance. When you look at a holding midfielder and how he needs to dominate his area and the pressing that is needed," arsenal.com quotes Arteta as saying.
"How he breaks up play, how he glues the team together in many moments when it was stretching a little bit. He was really dominant and then produced a magic moment to win the game, so I'm really happy with him.
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"He's a great kid. I think he's got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself and then a bit of banter as well. Being around the boys and the staff in a really humble way, I think he's fitted in brilliantly.
"When you see the technical ability that he has and how executed it in this moment, his range when he's shooting from range, his accuracy, the power that he generates with no space, with both legs, he can do it with both feet. He's got the timing to arrive in the box, the position will determine a lot with how many goals he will score because at the end it's about how consistent you are arriving there."
With Partey out of contention and Rice operating at the base of the midfield, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes returned to form a familiar defensive line from the 2022-23 season, and Arteta was asked for an update on Partey's condition after the game.
The Ghana FA - who officially broke the news of his issue - stated that he could be out for a couple of weeks, while rumours have been swirling on social media of a lengthier absence, and Arteta also offered a pessimistic response.
"I don't know, unfortunately he got an injury in training and it doesn't look good, we need some more tests, we believe he's going to be out for weeks. We think it's a groin but can be something in between," Arteta added.
With 10 points from their opening four matches, Arsenal lie fifth in the table heading into the international break and are next in action away to Everton on September 17, three days before their Champions League opener against PSV Eindhoven.
Ben Knapton
