Declan Rice has been a priceless addition to Arsenal this season and the midfielder is set to play a key role for Gareth Southgate's England side at Euro 2024 this summer

With financial regulations bringing a bit of sanity to the Premier League's transfer market, the days of paying in excess of PS100million for a midfielder will not be returning any time soon.

Good. But you will not find an Arsenal supporter who believes a single penny of the PS105million it cost to recruit Declan Rice last summer was a wasted one. Sure, it was an insane price, but Rice is a crazily effective footballer.

Ahead of Euro 2024 - and with the pair going head-to-head in the Champions League - a lot of English hopes are being pinned on Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Understandably so. But, take Kane out of the equation, the player Gareth Southgate would surely consider the most important to his cause is Rice.

There is no individual in the middle of a Premier League park more dominant than Rice, no individual more influential in the vast area between the two penalty boxes. Once again here, he was inspirational - a play-breaking six the one minute, a play-making eight the next, a goal-scoring nine the next.

Most notably, it was undiminished by that setback against Bayern Munich when Arsenal lost a Champions League quarter-final that was there to be won. It is almost as though he has redoubled his efforts since.

Against a Bournemouth team that were committed but not overly zealous or motivated, Rice - with Thomas Partey on holding duty - was always going to enjoy himself, as were his team-mates.

Rice has been a key addition for Arsenal this season ( Image:

Sure, there was an uncomfortable spell early in the second half when the visitors had a couple of sights of David Raya's goal and, sure, there appeared to be some anxiety in their ranks when Arsenal were trying to close this out.

But close it out they did, thanks largely to that man Rice. Ahead of this match, Rice gave a typically entertaining, typically forthright TV interview in which he reflected on his first campaign at the Emirates.

Arsenal forked out more than PS100m to sign Rice from West Ham ( Image:

Presumably, then, he felt very good after his fiendishly clever, flicked pass provided Leandro Trossard with a chance to double the lead given to them by Bukayo Saka's first half penalty - a chance the Belgian took expertly. It was Rice's eighth assist of the season and his seventh of 2024, a tally bettered only by Kevin de Bruyne.

For a horrendous decision to disallow an effort from Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, Arsenal had referee David Coote to thank for sparing them an anxious ten minutes or so but this was, by no means, an undeserved Arsenal win.

Rice scores against Bournemouth ( Image:

It is because Rice is as selfless as he is talented. But that does not mean he did not love his finale to this contribution, the crowning glory on another outstanding individual display.

And, in added time, as he saluted the crowd after scoring his seventh Premier League goal of the season, every man, woman and child returned the salute. Rice. Not worth every penny ... simply priceless.