Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed the impact of midfielder Declan Rice, after his brace powered the club to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The England midfielder scored twice in the second half on his return to action after a slight injury worry as the Gunners came back from a goal down to record a crucial away win.
The North London side had lost both legs of the clash against the Cherries last season and looked on course to continue the trend after Evanilson capitalized on an error at the back from Gabriel to open the scoring inside 10 minutes.
Yes, for me, yes”, Arteta said after the match, labeling the midfielder as one of the best in the world.
“Declan is constantly adding things to his game, he’s constantly adding things to his role in the team. I don’t see where he can stop because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve. He’s such a pivotal player for us.
“Every hour for him was important to be able to be available today. We didn’t know for how long [he could play for], so in the manner that he competed, played and on top of that scored two goals, I think it was outstanding and a really big message for the team”, the Spaniard added.
Gabriel made up for his earlier mistake with a goal for Arsenal in the 16th minute as the first half ended 1-1.
However, it soon became the Declan Rice show as the 26-year-old first put the Gunners in the lead for the first time in the 54th minute.
He grabbed his second in the 71st minute after good play from Bukayo Saka, before the hosts pulled one back through Junior Kroupi to set up a tense finish.
“It was massive off the back of Aston Villa to build on that and win. The win over Villa would’ve meant nothing if we didn’t win today”, Rice revealed after scoring his first EPL brace.
“It’s so important at this time of year as the fixtures come thick and fast to win games to put us in a really good position. We have to keep building on that. We’re in a really good spot.”
Arsenal extended their gap at the top to six points ahead of their crucial clash against Liverpool next Thursday.
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