Declan Rice calls tune for Arsenal but he can't do it all on his own

Critics of Declan Rice, sceptics, non-believers – because this is football and there must always, always be critics – have accused him in the past of cruising through matches. Well, not here.

Rice must have hated this game at times. Or at least, must have felt like he could barely breathe in those periods where he seemed to be playing three or four positions simultaneously, always harried, always pressed, trying to fill the roles of defensive shield, romping ball-carrier, auxiliary left-back, rondo-leader between the centre‑halves.

It hardly helped that he was doing it all in a match played out like an extended version of one of those playground games of murder-ball, where everyone runs outside high on Skittles and desperate for air and just barrels into each other until the bell sounds again.

But it made for some fine entertainment. Arsenal were resilient at Anfield. Liverpool played at an impressive pitch of sustained fury. A 1-1 draw is a good result for everyone involved at the top of the table, right down to the best team in the world, currently lurking in fifth.

At the end there was talk of Mo Salah’s wonderful goal and Arsenal’s central defenders. But Rice was the key player on the pitch, out there playing rhythm, lead, elbow-drums, mouth organ, clashing the cymbals between his knees, utterly vital to Arsenal’s ability to withstand the Anfield storm front.

They would have lost this game with a less adaptable, less high‑grade central midfielder in that role. And quite clearly Rice is now also key to Arsenal’s ability to sustain the drive that has put them top at Christmas, from where 10 of the past 14 titles have been won. But there was also a note of warning here, the sight of a footballer in a state of