Arsenal’s 5 best players in February – ranked

5. Martin Odegaard

Appearances: 5
Average rating: 7.2 (6,9,9,5,7)
Player of the Match: 0

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard hasn’t hit the goalscoring heights of last season (15 Premier League goals with no penalties) but he put in a couple of outstanding displays in February.

4. Gabriel

Appearances: 5
Average rating: 7.2 (7,9,8,5,9)
Player of the Match: 0

William Saliba has been labelled the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of Arsenal’s defence, but it’s partner Gabriel who really stood out in February.

3. Kai Havertz

Appearances: 5
Average rating: 7.4 (7,7,8,6,9)
Player of the Match: 0

The longstanding criticism of Kai Havertz is that he doesn’t score enough goals and doesn’t offer Arsenal enough in midfield.

Importantly, the German has the backing of Arteta, and judging by his February displays he’s likely to have a crucial role to play between now and the end of the season.

2. Bukayo Saka

Appearances: 5
Average rating: 7.8 (7, 9, 9, 5, 9)
Player of the Match: 1

The 22-year-old has scored seven goals in his five Premier League games, and he turned in three 9/10 performances in a fabulous February. In any other month, Saka would definitely have been Arsenal’s standout performer, but on this occasion…

1. Declan Rice

Appearances: 5
Average rating: 8.4 (8,10,8,7,9)
Player of the Match: 2

…he’s been outshone by the sensational Declan Rice.

Signed for £105m, a record fee for a British player, Rice had a lot to prove at the Emirates Stadium (with many saying he wasn’t up to it because he hadn’t played Champions League football), yet he’s somehow now looking like a bit of a bargain.

Rice was colossal in all five of Arsenal’s games in February – he was the only player to stamp any kind of authority on Porto – and deservedly picked up two of 90min’s player of the match awards.

His real standout display was at West Ham, where he scored a stupendous long-range goal to rub excessive amounts of salt into some very open East End wounds.