Martin Keown absolutely blown away by one Arsenal outfielder vs Brighton
Martin Keown waxed lyrical about Declan Rice during Arsenal’s narrow victory over Brighton on Saturday.
Arsenal beat Brighton 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, with Georginio Rutter‘s own-goal ultimately proving to be the winner.
Martin Odegaard found the breakthrough in the first half, and despite countless chances to kill off the game, the visitors would come close to equalising in the closing stages after Diego Gomez halved the deficit.
Rice was forced to start at right-back, with Jurrien Timber picking up a slight knock, while the alternative option, Ben White, has been ruled out through injury.
And there is further problems to come, with Riccardo Calafiori picking up an injury in the warm-up against Brighton.
Martin Keown stunned by what Declan Rice did vs Brighton
Arsenal looked to apply immediate pressure on Brighton, and were all over them in the opening minutes of the game.
Viktor Gyokeres squandered a superb chance, before Odegaard found the opener with a lovely finish.
The Norway international was found on the edge of the box by Bukayo Saka, opening up his body and placing a powerful effort into the bottom corner.
And in the second half, Arsenal would capitalise on their lead by forcing yet another own-goal.
Rice’s corner was struck hard and low, with Rutter inadvertently flicking past his own goalkeeper as he attempted to head away.
It is the fourth time Arsenal have benefited from an own-goal across the past four games, but Mikel Arteta will not be complaining.
Speaking on Final Score, Keown said: “The quality of the ball from Declan Rice now, he’s been doing this for about 18 months.
“That is a great ball in, hard to defend and it’s an own goal. It’s disappointing because I think Brighton started the second half playing way better than the first. It’s down to the quality of the ball from Rice.”
The stats behind yet another stunning Rice performance
Rice appears to have hit an even higher level of performance this season. The midfielder is so often the man to drag Arsenal through when his teammates fluster.
Usually, that impact has come from the middle of the pitch, with the England international given the licence to get up and down the pitch while Martin Zubimendi sits at the base.
| Declan Rice | vs Brighton |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 42/47 |
| Shots | 3 |
| Interceptions | 3 |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Recoveries | 4 |
But, due to injuries, Rice made his first-ever appearance for Arsenal on the right of the defence on Saturday.
There was no struggle to adapt to a new position, however. Instantly, the 26-year-old looked a natural at the back, stopping Brighton attacks in their tracks and making overlapping runs for Saka.
He would end the game having taken three shots, created a chance, made several defensive contributions, and produced the game-winning moment.