Declan Rice’s highlights vs Crystal Palace showed exactly why Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign him

Declan Rice’s highlights against Crystal Palace proved Arsenal were right to smash their transfer record to bring him to the club.

In July, Arsenal broke their transfer record after spending £105 million to lure Rice away from West Ham United.

At the time, Rice’s transfer also broke the British record which was later surpassed by Moises Caicedo’s move from Brighton to Chelsea.

After impressing in pre-season and against Nottingham Forest last weekend, Rice again showed his worth during Arsenal’s clash with Palace on Monday night.

The 24-year-old produced a commanding display in the middle of the park as he dominated his opponents.

Rice gave Mikel Arteta’s side the defensive stability to secure a narrow 1-0 win over Palace, with Martin Odegaard scoring the winner from 12 yards.

After the match, a compilation of Rice’s highlights against Palace went viral on social media.

Apart from his obvious defensive abilities, Rice was also involved in some of Arsenal’s best moves offensively.

Many fans have already praised Rice for the impact he is having on the Arsenal side.

Declan Rice vs Crystal Palace

(@_DeclanRice) pic.twitter.com/NFcdh2JaCD

— Sjayy 🎱 (@sjayy24s) August 21, 2023

Speaking about Rice after the match, Arteta said: “I thought he was fantastic. He really dominated the game.

“He bossed the midfield and dominated the game. He was very influential, both attacking and defending. Today he played a different position to last week because of what we expected from Palace and what we needed today, and I think he was really good.”

Whilst former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said: “Declan Rice was the best player on the pitch.

“I actually like him in the role he played tonight more than popping up between the lines. His initial position was to start in that deeper position and drive forward from it. I think that is where he is at his best.”

He added: “It felt like everything went through him. He was in the centre of the pitch, he was getting the ball, he was switching play - a couple of great 50 to 60-yard passes.

“But also when he made that run, he slipped a little pass to Nketiah. He was the best player on the pitch. I thought he was outstanding.”

Thoughts on Rice’s performance? Let us know in the comments.