Rice has made a successful start to life at the Emirates after completing a £105 million British record transfer from West Ham United to the Gunners.

With the addition of the England international, Arsenal are now crowded in the middle of the field, where Partey and Jorginho both function.

When asked which midfielders were the finest in the world, Rice named Rodri of Manchester City and Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, but he also had high regard for Partey.