8/10 Arsenal star was a “different beast” vs Man Utd

Well, that wasn’t exactly a classic, but Arsenal made it four wins on the bounce last night and four wins in a row against Manchester United to boot.

Mikel Arteta’s side were far from their scintillating best in attack and actually looked quite blunt in the first half, but two set-piece goals in the second 45 secured all three points and kept them in the Premier League title race.

Moreover, while some of the forward players left much to be desired on the night, there were still several brilliant displays elsewhere, notably from William Saliba.

Saliba’s performance vs Man Utd

Despite being without centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes due to injury, Saliba put in yet another monster performance, proving that he’s one of the very best defenders in the world, let alone England.

The French international was everywhere in defence, putting his body in the way and making it impossible for Rasmus Hojlund to hold up play, and then, to top it all off, he also scored the team’s second goal to all but guarantee that the three points would be staying in North London.

Unsurprisingly, the watching press were just as impressed by the former Saint-Étienne ace as we were, with the Standard’s Simon Collings awarding him an 8/10 match rating at full-time and writing that he was ‘so composed on the ball’ and utterly ‘dominant’ throughout.

While undoubtedly high praise, Collings’ appraisal is more than backed up by the stats.

In his 94 minutes on the pitch, the Bondy-born titan scored a goal, made two clearances, two interceptions and one tackle, won two of three ground duels, took 78 touches, completed 67 of 71 passes, was accurate in 100% of his long balls and took one shot on target.

Overall, it was a practically perfect display from Saliba, yet one of his teammates was arguably just as good.

The Arsenal star who was as good as Saliba vs Man Utd

So, there are a number of players who could potentially fit the bill, from centre-back partner Jakub Kiwior to right-back Jurrien Timber, but in reality, it’s the club’s £105m man, Declan Rice.

Yes, the former West Ham United captain has finally started to look back to his incredible best in recent games, and while he was a tad slow in the first half, he was sublime in the second, or as journalist Sam Dean said, a “different beast.”

It was the Englishman’s corner that was so perfectly placed for Timber to open the scoring, and then after that, it felt like he was here, there and everywhere.

One moment, he was snuffing out any counter-attacks threatening to develop, and the next, he was playing brilliant, accurate passes to help the Gunners maintain their stranglehold on the game.

The 25-year-old left Collings suitably impressed, as the journalist also awarded him an 8/10 match rating on the night, writing that he ‘gave Arsenal the injection of energy they needed.’

Like his French teammate, the 6 foot 2 wall’s statistics from the night back up all the praise.

In 94 minutes, he produced an expected assists figure of 0.41, provided an assist, took 56 touches, played three key passes, completed 100% of his long balls, created one big chance, blocked two shots, won five of six duels, and made one clearance, one interception and one tackle.

Ultimately, while Timber and Saliba will understandably grab the headlines for their goalscoring exploits, Rice should receive just as much praise as he was simply sensational for Arsenal.