Arsenal shared the spoils against Bayern Munich in yesterday’s Champions League clash at the Allianz Arena.
The Gunners faced a stern challenge against the German champions on the road, and they produced a good performance in a 2-2 draw.
Both goalkeepers were at the top of their game last night, and the stalemate was probably fair given the chances both teams created.
Harry Kane was the standout performer for Bayern with a goal and an assist, but Declan Rice delivered a fine showing for Arsenal too.
The England international won plenty of duels in the centre of the park and eventually played a big part in picking up a point in Munich.
Rice made a sublime run into the box with some good link-up play, first with Noni Madueke before Viktor Gyokeres provided the assist for his goal.
The midfielder unleashed a powerful low strike beyond Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s reach.
Speaking after the game on TNT Sports, Arsenal favourite Martin Keown asked Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard about the recent criticism around Rice.
Graeme Souness has described Rice as not being a top midfielder, and he has repeatedly said that the Englishman is more of a central defender.
Gerrard did not want to get into it, but he instead acknowledged Rice is a ‘world-class’ midfielder and scored a ‘top, top goal’ against Bayern.
He said: “Oh, forget about that, Martin. You’re thinking about things that are going on in your life.
“Declan Rice is a world-class midfielder and that was a top, top goal. But you don’t have to prove that because of all the other stuff that’s going on on all your other shows.”
Rice, who received an 8/10 rating from BBC Sport, had a pass completion rate of 90 percent (69/77) with 99 touches yesterday. He won an impressive 10 out of 13 duels contested, while making five recoveries and a couple of clearances.
The 27-year-old midfielder showed a tremendous work rate throughout the 90 minutes, and his quick link-up play with Madueke and Gyokeres before the goal left Bayern fans surprised.
Before the season started, there was much talk about Rice potentially needing a rest, given he has been managing hamstring neural pain, which was a concern at the World Cup.
However, the Englishman has shown no issues thus far. The recent rest over a three-week international break has no doubt helped him raise his game over the past few matches.
Rice has now made five goal contributions in the campaign, including four assists in the Premier League. He will aim to add to that tally when Everton visit the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Stats from Sofascore.com