Gabriel Magalhaes has admitted he loves playing alongside one key Arsenal player who’s ‘helped’ them a lot this season.

Arsenal are bidding to go one better in the Premier League this term after falling short last time out.

Mikel Arteta’s men have undoubtedly become a more resilient side this season and their display at Molineux on Saturday showed they are unlikely to fade away.

The 2-0 victory at Wolves came after crushing defeats to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich. Last season, Arsenal’s form dropped off massively during the run-in after an injury to William Saliba. 

The Gunners look set to take the title race right down to the wire this time around and while Arteta deserves plenty of credit, one signing has made a huge difference.

Gabriel lauds ‘extraordinary’ Declan Rice

Rice arrived at the Emirates Stadium last summer as Arsenal splashed out £105 million to land the Englishman.

Many believed the signing could be transformative for Arteta’s side and that may just be the case.

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The former West Ham skipper has added real physicality to the Arsenal midfield and his teammate Gabriel Magalhaes has been impressed with Rice’s displays. 

Speaking to TNT Sports, Gabriel admitted he’s enjoying playing alongside Rice and feels the 25-year-old has improved the Gunners this term.

“He’s a leader,” Gabriel said of Rice. “He’s an extraordinary player. I really love playing with him, because he has something different. Since arriving he’s helped us a lot.”

Rice’s stats for Arsenal

Not many expected Rice to provide a threat for Arsenal in the final third this season.

It was widely expected that the Englishman would come and operate at the base of midfield.

While he has been used as a No6 this term, his best performances have come in a more advanced role.

Rice has netted six goals and provided seven assists for the Gunners this season. He’s also emerged as a capable set-piece taker in recent months.

Arsenal needed their biggest stars to step up last weekend and Rice certainly delivered, with Adrian Clarke even labelling the midfielder as his Man of the Match.