Journalist admits ‘laughing’ at one Arsenal star during Sevilla win

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Journalist Charles Watts was blown away by how good Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was against Sevilla.

Declan Rice was imperious in the middle of the park on Wednesday evening, as Arsenal eased to a 2-0 win over Sevilla in a Champions League group stage fixture. 

Rice was deployed in a slightly more advanced left-eight position, alongside Kai Havertz. From there, the 24-year-old was able to help ensure that the Gunners were able to retain possession deep in Sevilla territory, keeping the Spanish side penned back. 

The former West Ham United star was also as defensively reliable as ever. When Arsenal did turn over possession, Rice was on hand to help the north London club win back the ball quickly.

As per WhoScored statistics, Rice was accurate with 94.3% of his passes, including three on-target long balls, and made two interceptions.

It could easily be argued that Rice hasn’t had a bad game since he joined Arsenal for a club record £105 million fee in the recent summer transfer window. He has hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium and already looks comfortable with performing every task that Mikel Arteta asks of him, be that playing as a left-eight or in his more familiar role at the base of the midfield unit. 

Declan Rice is proving he can do it all

Arsenal-supporting journalist Charles Watts was once again impressed by Rice against Sevilla. Taking to Twitter, he said, “genuinely just found myself laughing at how good Declan Rice was tonight. He’s just everywhere.”

“He’s like that player when you used to play five-aside who you would do everything to try to lose, yet every time you got the ball he would always be right there, nicking it off you.”

There really does seem to be nothing that Rice can’t do. So far this season, he has proven himself to be an elite defensive midfielder, shown an ability to drag the team up the pitch with his driving runs, and demonstrated that he can even provide a goal threat too. 

According to iconic former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, Rice has to now be considered the best player in Arteta’s Arsenal squad.