Bruno Guimaraes deservedly got the headlines after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Leeds.
His game-changing cameo off the bench inspired a comeback at a time when it seemed unlikely. The Brazilian scored the winning goal in fine fashion after getting on the end of a clever backheel from Declan Rice.
After his poor performance against Brighton, it’s fair to say Arsenal fans have completely changed their tune on the £75million signing after his contribution today.
Arsenal vs Leeds TalkingPoints
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
But speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after the game, Danny Murphy wanted to make sure that Rice’s performance didn’t go unnoticed, in direct contrast to Stuart Pearce’s ‘slow and sluggish’ assessment during the game.
“Declan Rice stood up when someone needed to get on the ball and make things happen, to carry possession,” Murphy said. “He had some great defensive moments as well — last ditch tackles, plus a couple of great headers and interceptions.
“He looked like he was well rested after the international break. Maybe that’s a blessing for Arsenal today. Rice was back to his athletic and quality best. We know he’s got it in abundance late in the game. Maybe if you look at the Brighton loss, it wasn’t quite there.”
To be honest, Rice was below his usual standards for much of the first hour, and Pearce’s criticism was fair at the time. But once Guimaraes came on and changed the whole dynamic of the game, Rice upped into a different gear entirely, and not just because of the assist for the winner.
With Bruno sitting deeper, Rice was allowed to roam around the pitch and the opposition just could not get near him. It completely flipped the switch of what Anton Stach was doing for the first 65 minutes. It was a really smart tactical change from Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal midfielder now leads the Premier League for assists, making Graeme Souness look silly yet again. Paul Merson predicted before the game that the international break rest would benefit Rice. Perhaps, and hopefully, he was right.