It was an odd day for Arsenal on Sunday. While they dropped two points away from home and surrendered top spot to Liverpool, there is a renewed sense of belief in the club's Premier League title credentials.
Mikel Arteta's men finally ended their dreadful run of results at the Etihad, took a point back to north London and stopped Manchester City from scoring at home for the first time since October 2021.
It wasn't an entertaining game, not by any stretch, but it was a defensive masterclass from the Gunners, and one of the shining lights, as he so often has been this season, was Declan Rice.
Declan Rice's game in numbers
While the game produced very little attacking football to excite fans – just three shots on target proves as much – it did provide plenty of brilliant defensive performances to analyse, with Rice's efforts just in front of his back four worthy of notable praise.
This is an opinion shared by the Standard's Simon Collings', who awarded the Englishman an 8/10 on the night, writing that he 'put in a big shift' when out of possession and that he 'broke up play so well' despite having to play 'deeper than he has recently.'
The Englishman's numbers from the match, while not spectacular at first glance, help to reveal how vital his role in the team was. In his 95 minutes of action, the £105m man played one key pass, maintained a passing accuracy of 86%, succeeded in his one dribble, won four of eight ground duels, made three tackles, and took 45 touches – the third most in the team.
Minutes
95'
Key Passes
1
Passing Accuracy
25/29 (86%)
Dribbles (Successful)
1 (1)
Ground Duels (Won)
8 (4)
Tackles
3
Touches
45
It wasn't a vintage performance that'll be clipped up for fans to watch in ten years, but the 25-year-old titan was everywhere for the Gunners, led from the front and played an essential role in Arteta's plan to stifle the treble winners, which is precisely what he did.
That said, there was another starter who was just as, if not more important for the visitors, a player who has a genuine case for being the most important player in the team this year.
Gabriel Magalhães' importance to Arsenal
The player in question is Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhães, who has been quietly putting in brilliant performances all year for the north Londoners, while the attention has been on his teammates like William Saliba and Rice.
Yesterday was no different. While the Gunners' defensive unit was seriously impressive overall, he stood out and made arguably the best striker in the world – Erling Haaland – look distinctly average.
After the game, Collings awarded the 26-year-old an 8/10, rightfully named him his 'star player', claimed he 'made countless blocks and tackles' and described him as a 'warrior at the back.'
However, it wasn't just yesterday that the former LOSC Lille ace was a titan at the back for Arteta; he's been one all year.
The club have conceded just 23 goals in the 37 games the São Paulo-born ace has started, which works out to be around 0.62 goals per game.
In contrast, in the four games the "unstoppable" star, as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, wasn't on the pitch, the club conceded three goals, which works out to around 0.75 goals per game.
Arsenal struck gold with a star who'd be worth more than Martinelli today
The former Arsenal man was a tour de force at the Emirates.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMar 27, 2024
Ultimately, it can be quite tricky to summarise a defender's importance to a team through statistics, but Gabriel's importance to Arteta's title-challenging Arsenal side cannot be ignored, and if they can get over the line in May, it'll have a lot to do with him.