Danny Murphy says Arsenal star is ‘best in the country’ after what he did vs Man City

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Arsenal secured a 5-1 win over Manchester City in the Premier League to stun the Emirates.

Five different goalscorers punished Pep Guardiola’s side, as Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri found the net.

While Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri wrote their names into Premier League history with their goals, it wasn’t only those on the scoresheet who shone brightly. 

Declan Rice was one of Arsenal’s best players against Man City, thriving in the number eight role to earn high praise and the man of the match award. 

• READ MORE: Three winners and one loser from Arsenal vs Man City including Erling Haaland and amazing star

Danny Murphy makes ‘best in the country’ claim for Declan Rice

Mikel Arteta was expectedly delighted with his team’s performance as he raved about his two teenage goalscorers.

The Hale End duo made their impact known but, a lot of Arsenal’s highs against City wouldn’t have happened without Rice. 

Arteta’s midfield general was head and shoulders above the rest, having a hand in three goals, and recording two assists.

While the England international’s two assists deserve celebration, it was something else the midfielder did that earned high praise from BBC pundit Danny Murphy.

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day 2, Murphy dubbed Rice one of the country’s ‘best’ when it comes to winning duels in a high press. 

“Odegaard setting the tone, pressing nice and high, look at the energy. Then people follow, I mean Rice is one of the best in the country at this, that’s why he [Arteta] likes him playing a bit further ahead sometimes.”

The pundit was commenting on the sequence of play that saw Kai Havertz agonisingly miss after Rice won the ball back with a crunching tackle just outside the box.

Man City couldn’t cope with Arsenal’s early press

While the second-half performance was arguably one of the best halves of football Arsenal have produced this season, the tone was set before the interval.

The Gunners carried a one-goal lead into half-time, with their dominance already asserted on City in other areas, as the numbers portrayed.

As seen above, Arsenal’s press and attention to defensive detail in the first half against City made the champions aware of the task they were up against, making for an uncomfortable start for the visitors.

Arteta would’ve been satisfied with his team’s performance in all areas, as control of the game was evident even before the flurry of goals arrived.