Declan Rice was the best player on the pitch as Arsenal beat Burnley in the Premier League.
The Clarets had made Turf Moor a fortress under Scott Parker. Only Liverpool had managed to beat them there in a long time, and that came from a late penalty.
Arsenal had to be at their best to get the win, and they were comfortably the better side.
Viktor Gyokeres opened the scoring and looked fabulous, but Rice, who scored the second goal, won the Player of the Match award.
Max Dowman says Declan Rice is ‘the best’ after Arsenal beat Burnley
Declan Rice has quietly had a brilliant season at Arsenal.
The Englishman has been integral to the Gunners with his set-piece delivery, but his all-round game has been excellent as well.
On Saturday against Burnley, Rice had one of his best games since he joined the club for a record fee in the summer of 2023.
The former West Ham man was absolutely everywhere. He covered every blade of grass, dominated with and without the ball and scored a great goal.
Rice even called himself a ‘traditional number nine’ for his finish, and he’s not wrong. Even Alan Shearer would’ve been proud of that header.
After the game, young Max Dowman, who was on the bench at Turf Moor, shared Rice’s post on his Instagram Story and hailed him.
He wrote: “The best!”
Declan Rice could just be Arsenal’s best player
Bukayo Saka has been regarded as Arsenal’s best player for many years now, and that is not a controversial statement by any means.
The England international has carried the Gunners on his back and is one of the biggest reasons why they are where they are right now.
However, Saka has had tough games too, like against Burnley, and injuries have troubled him over the last 12 months.
Rice, on the other hand, is almost always fit, rarely ever has a bad game and is consistently brilliant in all phases of play.
For that reason, we think Rice is Arsenal’s best player right now.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
