Declan Rice hailed as one of the best in the world by Mikel Arteta after scoring twice in Arsenal's win over Bournemouth

Rice delivered a phenomenal, match-winning performance, returning from knee injury, the England midfielder was exceptional, scoring his first Premier League brace to single-handedly drive the Gunners past a spirited Bournemouth. His impact was immediate; after an early Gabriel error, Rice took command in the second half, putting Arsenal ahead with a precise shot and sealing the win from a Bukayo Saka cutback. 

Beyond his decisive goals, Rice was an engine, leading all players in first-half passes and tackles, showcasing leadership and decisive quality to anchor the midfield when the match could have unravelled. This resilient performance underlines his critical importance to their title charge, and has earned massive praise from his manager. 

After the match, Arteta told reporters: "Declan was struggling the last few days but pushed and pushed and pushed and made himself available. He played 96 minutes, scored two goals and was one of the best players on the pitch. That is the mentality we need from all of us." 

And when asked if he thought Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world, Arteta said: "For me, yes. Declan is constantly adding things to his game, and his role in the team, and I don't see where he can stop because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve."

Arteta added: "It is very different context to the Villa game. We put ourselves into a very difficult position with the manner we conceded the first goal but what Gabriel has done was remarkable, he showed leadership and unity. We then grew into the game and scored two great goals. 

"The ones who came in did really well, that is what we need. All of the players are really consistent and it was against a team difficult to beat. We will learn from the first goal we conceded. It is the quality of the opposition and sometimes you have to applaud that. We are still in January we have nine games this month so we will play game by game." 

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Following the hard-earned victory, Rice told the BBC: “We knew it was always going to be really tough. To pick up the three points and the way we did it was really important. It showed the character of Gabriel to make the mistake and then how he played for the rest of the game, it showed the mentality of the team. Key thing was three points and we are building momentum. 

"I have been in situations before where I have scored one in a game and wanted to score another and it hasn't happened but now it is. We are going to need everyone chipping in at different points so happy to help the team. We have had it tough this season like a lot of other teams with injuries. We are in a good spot, if we can keep rotating then good things will happen but there's a long way to go."

Victory on the South Coast continues Arsenal's impressive season and are performing exceptionally well compared to the famous "Invincibles" side of just over two decades ago, despite having lost two games this season. They have earned two more points than the 2003-04 title-winning team at the same stage, have scored four more goals and they have conceded only one more goal than the 03-04 side at this point in the season.