Declan Rice impresses for Arsenal in 2-1 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth

Arsenal suffered their fourth loss of the Premier League campaign against Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Gunners had a good opening half against the Cherries but things went pear-shaped after the break.

Declan Rice opened the scoring with a fine run into the box in the 34th minute of the encounter.

Dean Huijsen levelled proceedings in the 67th minute before Evanilson bagged the winner for the Cherries.

Replays showed that Evanilson apparently handled the ball. VAR had no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.

Despite the defeat, there were some positives. Rice had another top outing from the number eight role for Arsenal.

The Englishman played as a defensive midfielder in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.

In Thomas Partey’s absence due to suspension, Rice was barely a threat to Les Parisiens in an attacking capacity over 90 minutes.

However, the midfielder had the opportunity to play in an advanced role yesterday and grabbed the eye with his performance.

Aside from his goal, Rice won seven duels in the game, completing both of his dribbles (2/2).

He also made a couple of successful tackles alongside four recoveries and a single interception.

Rice, who received an 8/10 rating from football.london, was replaced with Mikel Merino just moments before Evanilson’s winner for the visitors.

It was probably the right thing to do, considering the club have a crucial second leg in the Champions League against PSG on the road.

Arsenal are trailing 1-0 after the first leg at the Emirates Stadium and need a huge performance to make their first final since 2006 in Paris.

The Gunners have been guilty of conceding soft goals over the past few league games and must guard against the same on Wednesday.

Rice will have a significant role to play in an attacking capacity as chief playmaker Martin Odegaard has been far from his best over the last month.

Stats from Sofascore.com