As he did against Manchester City earlier in the season, Riccardo Calafiori produced a moment of magic for Arsenal against Wolves, scoring a pearler when others were missing better chances.
Mikel Arteta introduced Calafiori at left-back at half-time owing to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card.
But despite the change, with Calafiori replacing Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal remained on the front foot – they continued to try and win the game.
One of the reasons Arsenal were able to maintain that approach was due to the brilliance of Declan Rice in the middle, who delivered another astonishing display as a number eight.
Rice was playing like two players in the second half, and he deserves just as much credit as Calafiori, whose efforts were celebrated on the scoresheet.
Declan Rice delivers dominant perfomance against Wolves whilst down to 10-men
At times early in the season, Rice was being criticised by one or two in an Arsenal shirt for the first time – the merits of his £105m move have rarely ever been questioned otherwise.
But you certainly won’t find anyone underplaying Rice’s contributions right now, an immense talent for Arteta to continue to develop as an eight.
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Against Wolves, Thomas Partey sat in the pivot, allowing Rice to play further forward and influence things on an attacking front.
And the England international was simply sensational with his running and passing in the middle – he was crucial to Arsenal in transition.
In the summer, Arsenal want to sign Martin Zubimendi, a deal for a number six that is already thought to be well-progressed.
And judging by Rice’s efforts against Wolves as an eight, it’s clear to see why Arteta made the bold choice to change the former West Ham captain’s position when he arrived in N5.
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In addition to Rice’s performance with the ball, it’s clear to see that he also has an elite winning mentality – he led by example in the middle against Wolves.
And when you consider that Rice is often playing alongside young talents like Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, it’s a brilliant example to have at the Emirates Stadium.
In the fallout from Arsenal’s win against Wolves, there has been a lot of negativity because of the repeated controversial refereeing decisions Arteta’s side are being subjected to.
But Arsenal’s frustrations with Michael Oliver shouldn’t overshadow a brilliant performance by Rice, who continues to shine in red.
Calafiori obviously deserves credit too, but Rice was the real match-winner against Wolves, the player who helped keep his side on the front foot at 0-0 when they were one man down.
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