Declan Rice has barely been at Arsenal three months, but you wouldn’t know it.
The midfielder has quickly become the heartbeat of this Arsenal team and he underlined that at Stamford Bridge as he dragged the Gunners to a point.
Mikel Arteta’s side had looked dead and buried when they were 2-0 down, with Chelsea on course for their biggest win of the Mauricio Pochettino era.
Roberto Sanchez, however, opened the door for Arsenal to stage a late comeback - and Rice took full advantage.
It was a sloppy pass from the Chelsea goalkeeper, as he picked out Rice and not a team-mate when trying to play out from the back. But make no mistake, the finish from Rice was one of the highest quality as he kept his cool to find the bottom corner from 30 yards or so.
The goal was the spark Arsenal needed and, seven minutes later, they were back on level terms as Leandro Trossard finished well at the back-post from Bukayo Saka’s cross.
This was an evening where for much of it Arsenal were all at sea. They had no control in the first-half and failed to muster a single shot on target.
They looked rattled and a far cry from the team who had beaten Manchester City just before the international break.
It was a day for Arsenal to roll up their sleeves and scrap for a point, and Rice led the way.
The midfielder admitted afterwards the first-half was the worst Arsenal have played all season, and it is hard to argue against him.
As good as Chelsea were, the Gunners allowed them to be and the number of errors they made had Arteta jumping up and down in his technical area.
By the end, he will have been a relieved man and the fact is Arsenal are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season.
Much of the reason for that is Rice, who has now delivered in games against Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.
When you come with a price tag of £105million, there is a pressure to deliver - and so far Rice has passed with flying colours.
It’s a testament that he has been so good, no one speaks about how much Arsenal paid for him any more.
Instead, all that is spoken about is his growing influence. Arteta’s desire to push the boat out has been justified.
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