Emmanuel Petit has claimed that Arsenal have a player who has been better than both Phil Foden and Cole Palmer this season.
The Gunners are still on top of the Premier League table, but Manchester City remain the favourites to win the title. Pep Guardiola‘s side are just a point below Arsenal and have a game in hand.
Arsenal need to keep winning their games to have any chance of lifting the title at the end of the season, and to be fair to them, they have been doing that for large parts of this year.
The North Londoners have been incredible in 2024, winning 14 of their 16 games in the Premier League.
One player, in particular, has been sensational, and Petit has now claimed that he deserves to win the Player of the Season award ahead of Chelsea’s Palmer and Manchester City’s Foden.
Emmanuel Petit makes interesting claim about Arsenal’s Declan Rice
Arsenal smashed their transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United last summer.
The Gunners decided very early that the Englishman was their primary target, and they went all out for him despite strong interest from Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta convinced Rice to snub Pep Guardiola, and the 25-year-old has been absolutely unbelievable over the last eight months.
Rice has been so good for Arsenal that nobody is even talking about his price tag. He is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and perhaps even Europe.
Emmanuel Petit, who knows a thing or two about being a great midfielder, seems to be in awe of Rice’s performances for Arsenal this season.
He branded the Englishman as the missing link in the Gunners’ midfield and claimed that Rice has been the best player in the Premier League this season – ahead of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
While speaking about the Player of the Season award, Andy Goldstein said on talkSPORT: “For my money, it’s either Cole Palmer or Phil Foden.”
Petit completely disagreed. He said: “Nah, come on, you forget someone. I agree with you, they’ve been very good this season those guys, but I will say Declan Rice!
“He left his club, £100 million on his shoulders and all of a sudden, he was a huge hit straightaway. He has been marvellous, amazing during the whole season. I think that was probably the missing link from last season.
“I wish I could play with him, alongside him in midfield because it would be a big pleasure to play alongside him.”
Declan Rice’s stats for Arsenal will blow you away
Declan Rice really does deserve the Player of the Season award.
The Englishman has six goals and six assists to his name already, which is his best return ever. He has been monumental for the Gunners in the middle of the park and has barely had a bad game.
In 34 games in the Premier League this season, Rice averages 73.1 touches of the ball and has maintained a really impressive passing accuracy of 91 per cent.
The 25-year-old also averages 1.1 tackles. 2.1 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and 4.7 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, which is just stunning (SofaScore).
Rice has been a brilliant signing for Arsenal, and if they go on to win the Premier League title, he will be one of the biggest reasons why.
