Declan Rice's highlights vs MLS All-Stars as Arsenal's £105m signing makes debut | OneFootball

New Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice made his debut for the club on Wednesday night as the Gunners faced the MLS All-Star XI.

The Englishman signed for the club this summer and cost a monumental £105m, so there was a lot of hype surrounding his first appearance for Mikel Arteta's side, and a clip of his highlights from the contest has gone viral, showcasing exactly what he'll add to Arsenal's midfield next season.

Taking on the MLS All-Star XI, led by Wayne Rooney, the London-based side handily beat their opponents, winning 5-0 with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz sealed the deal for the Gunners.

Rice, didn't start the contest, but came off the bench and demonstrated what he's going to bring to the Emirates once the new season kicks off.

How did Declan Rice's Arsenal debut go?

While his debut wasn't the most eye-catching performance, and it won't be enough to satisfy the most casual of fans, Rice showed perfectly what he'll add to Arsenal and their midfield next season, with a calm and comfortable display in the middle of the park.

The 24-year-old looked composed on the ball, remaining calm as the MLS All-Star XI tried to press him, and he looked slick with his passing, regularly finding his teammates with ease.

It's this stability, and strength in the middle of the park, both with the ball at his feet and finding his teammates, that will benefit Arsenal so greatly next season as they look to build on their recent second-placed finish in the Premier League.

There's a level of sensibility in Rice's game, and it showed in the performance, with the Englishman refraining from trying anything too spectacular, in favour of doing the basics on an elite level. It might not have been very flashy, but he was effective in the middle of the field for Arsenal.

What will Declan Rice bring to Arsenal?

Known for his strength on the ball and his elite vision as a playmaker, only Thomas Partey averaged a similar passing success rate in the Gunners' midfield in comparison to Rice during his final Premier League campaign at West Ham United. His 88% pass success percentage outranks that of Jorginho, Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka.

The Englishman also averaged 4.1 long balls last season, demonstrating just how impressive his vision is and the level of range he can access at any given moment. It far outranks any Arsenal player last season, with the club's goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale coming closest to Rice, averaging 3.6 long balls a game himself.

His passing isn't the only aspect of his game that he'll be bringing to the Emirates, though, with his defensive capabilities just as, if not even more, impressive. In the middle of West Ham's midfield, Rice averaged 2.1 tackles a game, more than anyone at the Gunners except for Partey who averaged the exact same number.

He also averaged 1.7 interceptions a game, which is almost double the highest average in the Arsenal squad, which perfectly demonstrates the level of elite defence that the Englishman will also be adding to the club's midfield. Towards the end of last season, the Gunners' title challenge collapsed, but adding someone with a mixture of Rice's defensive capabilities and playmaking attributes will go a long way into building off the back of that and taking another step forward in their progression.

Another underrated aspect of Rice's game that he'll bring to Arsenal is his leadership which should help strengthen the mentality of Arteta's young squad. In a team made up of predominantly younger talents, there's a necessity to bolster the squad with natural leaders who will help guide the youngest of the group and the midfielder is the exact sort of player that is perfectly suited to doing that. He spent the final season of his West Ham tenure as the club's captain, demonstrating he knows how to lead a team and that influx of leadership and guidance will work wonders for the Gunners.

How did the other Arsenal new-boys get on?

It was a great occasion all around for Arsenal's transfer business, as all three of their incoming acquisitions impressed during the MLS All-Star game. Joining Rice in making their debut for the club in the game were Havertz and Jurrien Timber, who both also started the contest on the bench, but featured heavily in the second half.

Timber, who joined the Gunners from Ajax has only been with his new teammates for a week but looks to have settled in incredibly quickly, putting in a superb defensive display in 35 minutes. He showed a level of versatility that Arteta's side will benefit from and clearly impressed the manager who claimed after the contest that the defender will be an important player for Arsenal going forward.

Havertz enjoyed a bright start to his Arsenal tenure too, bagging the club's fifth and final goal of the contest in the 89th minute to seal the victory in style. The goal was a welcome one for the German, who had previously made headlines for all the wrong reasons after his disastrous showing in the Cross and Volley Challenge during the All-Star Skills Challenge the night before. He became the first player in the history of the All-Star Week to fail to score from all 14 of his attempts during the event, a record no one wants to hold.

Rival fans used the moment to poke fun at the former Chelsea man and lambast the Gunners for spending so much on bringing him to the club, so bagging that goal in the final minute of the All-Star Game is the perfect response for him. It's a promising sign to see all three of Arsenal's major signings settling in so quickly and immediately churning out impressive performances. Too often a major acquisition will take some time to find his feet at a new club, and rival fans will quickly jump on their initial performances, so having all three start so brightly makes for a welcome change.