Aside from finally facing a shot on target, that was about as perfect a game as Arsenal could have hoped for.
Mikel Arteta’s side played host to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, and while Diego Simeone’s side are usually no pushovers, they were in North London.
Bar a momentary loss of composure from David Raya in the first half and a decent-looking shot from Julián Alvarez in the second, the Gunners never really looked in any danger and tore the Spanish side to pieces, earning their third win in Europe this season.
There were standout performances from all over the pitch for the hosts, but two starters really stood out: Declan Rice and someone who now has to be considered as one of the best in the world in his position.
Rice's game vs Atlético
While Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi put in brilliant performances alongside him, Rice was once again Arsenal’s most impressive midfielder on Tuesday night.
Granted, there were a couple of times in which he seemed to lose his footing, but aside from those minor blips, he was near enough faultless from the first minute to the last.
If the former West Ham United captain wasn’t helping snuff out attacks, he was helping kickstart them for the North Londoners, and as always seems to be the case these days, his deliveries were on another level.
It was his free-kick that led to the opening goal, and then towards the end of the game, he came incredibly close to picking up another assist with a similar pinpoint accurate delivery.
The all-action monster also left quite the impression on the Sun’s Jordan Davies, who awarded him an 8/10 match rating at full-time.
Minutes
93′
Assists
1
Big Chances Created
2
Key Passes
3
Passes (Accurate)
45/46 (98%)
Shots
1
Touches
63
Interceptions
1
Clearances
1
Blocked Shots
1
Recoveries
2
Unsurprisingly, his statistics more than justify the praise and back up the eyetest.
In 93 minutes of action, he amassed a combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.36, created two big chances, played three key passes, completed 45 of 46 passes, was accurate with 100% of his long balls, took one shot, took 63 touches, and made one clearance, an interception and two ball recoveries.
In all, it was another world-class performance from Rice that more than proves he is one of the very best in the world, which could also be said about one of his teammates displays.
The Arsenal star who is one of the best in the world
The brilliant thing for Arteta and the Arsenal faithful is that a host of players delivered sensational performances on Tuesday night.
Chalkboard
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For example, Gabriel Martinelli scored a wonderful goal, Viktor Gyokeres nabbed a brace, and Jurrien Timber continued his impressive form going forward.
However, while all these starters were excellent, it’s impossible to ignore Gabriel Magalhães.
The Brazilian centre-back was at his imperious best against Simeone’s usually hard-as-nails Atlético, and in all phases of play looked near enough untouchable.
Of course, it was he who opened the scoring when he got on the end of Rice’s free-kick in the 57th minute.
And then, as if the Madrid outfit hadn’t learned their lesson from 13 minutes earlier, he once again got his head on a set-piece to provide the assist for Gyokeres to make it 4-0.
It wasn’t just in the opposition’s penalty area where he was a monster, though, as he did his absolute best to try and keep Raya from facing a shot on target at the other end of the pitch.
Unsurprisingly, the Sun’s Davies was massively impressed, awarding him a 9/10 and analyst Statman Dave went even further, describing him as one of the best defenders “on the planet.”
The 27-year-old’s statistics certainly help such a claim.
Minutes
72′
Goals
1
Assists
1
Clearances
3
Blocked Shots
1
Aerial Duels (Won)
2 (2)
Big Chances Created
1
Key Passes
1
Passes (Accurate)
43/48 (90%)
Shots
3
In just 72 minutes, he produced a combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.54, made three clearances, won 100% of his ground duels, blocked one shot, played one key pass, created one big chance, took three shots and completed 90% of his passes.
Ultimately, given his years of impressive displays and the level at which he is operating this season, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Gabriel is one of the best in the world, and Tuesday night only helped his case.