100% crosses, 100% ground duels: 8/10 Arsenal star was terrific in 2nd half vs Palace, they couldn’t handle him – opinion

Arsenal registered a 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace on the road on Saturday.

The Gunners produced a good performance in the London derby at Selhurst Park, but the result was not as straightforward as the scoreline suggests.

Palace had a number of big chances to score in either half against Arsenal and goalkeeper David Raya was superb in goal with outstanding saves.

Meanwhile, Declan Rice also produced a fine second-half performance in a central attacking midfield role after replacing Kai Havertz in the 58th minute.

The England international missed the recent Carabao Cup quarter-final against Palace with a niggle, but he made his comeback in outstanding fashion.

Rice provided the assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal which made it 4-1 in the Gunners’ favour.

Prior to stoppage time, the 25-year-old came up with a terrific curling strike from the edge of the box to beat goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Aside from his goal contributions, Rice had a passing accuracy of 90 percent. He completed 100 percent of his crosses and won 100 percent of his ground duels.

Rice received an 8/10 rating from football.london. He was undoubtedly the best player for the Gunners in the second half against the Eagles yesterday.

Arsenal’s game finished on a sour note with confirmation of a potential long-term injury for Bukayo Saka. Raheem Sterling also picked up an injury in training.

Despite this, there were positives. Gabriel Jesus continued from where he left off in midweek. He scored a brace yesterday following a hat-trick on Wednesday.

Raya saved the Gunners with his goalkeeping heroics. Rice and Riccardo Calafiori impressed off the bench while Gabriel Martinelli looked good on the right wing.

Arsenal have closed the gap to league leaders Liverpool to three points after the derby win, but Arne Slot’s side have a couple of games in hand over them.

Stats from Sofascore.com