Forget Martinelli and Trossard, 68-touch star was actually Arsenal’s best player vs Athletic Club

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Arsenal beat Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday evening to kick off their Champions League campaign with an impressive victory.

The Gunners struggled for long periods against Ernesto Valverde’s side, finding it difficult to create chances in an intimidating atmosphere.

However, Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring 36 seconds after coming on in the second half, slotting beyond Unai Simon after being played through by Leandro Trossard.

The Brazilian then repaid the favour, cutting the ball back for the Belgian, who converted from close range three minutes from time.

Both goalscorers impressed on the night with their cameo performances, although one starter stood out in the Basque Country.

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Declan Rice was impressive for Arsenal against Athletic Club

Arsenal fans didn’t like Mikel Arteta’s midfield team selection in Bilbao, although it ultimately proved effective.

While the Gunners were far from their best as an offensive outfit, particularly in the first half, they did protect their own goal outstandingly.

Athletic Club finished the game having accumulated just 0.41 expected goals, and this is largely down to Arsenal’s combative midfield trio, who were able to compete and dominate physically.

At the heart of this was Declan Rice, who was exceptional throughout.

The Englishman was everywhere for the Gunners, often popping up in deeper areas alongside Martin Zubimendi, as well as regularly making aggressive forays forward using his absurd athletic ability.

While Mikel Merino was peripheral, Rice made his presence known, contributing in almost every area of the game with his lung-bursting recovery runs and innate ability to pick up second balls.

Arteta’s decision to rest the 26-year-old on the weekend against Nottingham Forest paid dividends.

Declan Rice’s statistics vs Athletic Club

On a night where Arsenal struggled to progress the ball through the thirds as a team, Rice didn’t.

The England international completed ten passes into the final third and played six accurate long balls, with these statistics clearly highlighting that he was the orchestrator of the Gunners’ build-up.

Meanwhile, Rice also created three chances for his teammates, more than anyone else on the pitch, in what was a somewhat cagey affair devoid of quality in the final third.

All of this on-the-ball work didn’t come to the detriment of his defensive work, as he made five recoveries, constantly sweeping up danger for his team.

This was a mammoth display from Rice.