Declan Rice Makes History as Arsenal Star Reaches Exclusive Milestone in Fierce North London Derby

Declan Rice is justifiably considered among the finest central midfielders globally—making it unsurprising that he's quickly accumulated 100 Premier League matches for Arsenal.

Rice becomes the 73rd player to achieve this specific milestone for Arsenal since the Premier League began in 1992, and represents the eighth current squad member to reach his century. What matters most to Rice is trophy success by season's end—the Gunners aim to break a 22-year championship drought that has produced three consecutive second-place finishes—but this marks another achievement for a player many fans believe deserves the captain's armband.

However, Martin Ødegaard currently holds that honor, though Rice belongs to a leadership collective that includes Bukayo Saka, who recently penned a new five-year deal to secure his extended commitment to the club.

Rice formerly accumulated 204 Premier League appearances for West Ham United across seven seasons, during which he emerged from the academy as a promising youngster. Now 27, the tireless box-to-box midfielder has featured in over 300 Premier League fixtures.

The Esteemed Company Rice Joins

The Distinguished Group Rice Enters

The present Arsenal squad members who have donned red and white beyond 100 occasions includes Saka—leading with 219 appearances since debuting on New Year's Day 2019—the two Gabriels—Martinelli and Magalhães, each with 182 outings—and Ødegaard, reaching 171 but could have achieved more without recent fitness setbacks.

Ben White, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard represent the three additional players consistently trusted by Arteta to deliver, although White's involvement has become increasingly limited as Jurriën Timber has overtaken him in the right-back hierarchy.

Arsenal's most seasoned Premier League performer is former midfielder Ray Parlour. The Cobra Bomb stalwart featured 333 times from 1992 to 2004—eight more than David Seaman achieved between the posts (325) and 18 ahead of brilliant forward Dennis Bergkamp, who ranks prominently in Sports Illustrated's top 50 Premier League players ever.

Arsenal's Highest Premier League Appearance Makers

Arsenal's Top Premier League Game Leaders

Rice's Warning to Arsenal Over Premier League Title

Rice's Caution to Arsenal Regarding Premier League Championship

Capturing the Premier League championship would lift a massive burden that persists over north London—although Arsenal haven't aided their cause recently with anxious, unusually cautious displays resulting in lost points during a vital period.

This pattern isn't unfamiliar for Arsenal, nor for Rice following his participation in the previous two Premier League title campaigns, and he emphasized before facing Spurs that the squad supports one another while pursuing their goals.

"We're following our own route, we're on our individual path and we completely trust each other," he stated this week. "We want to succeed because we possess such a strong core unit, such talented players now that we can achieve it. It demonstrates that we can turn a new chapter regarding people discussing that mindset.

"One aspect that resonated with me following the Manchester United match, the manager spoke about examining the position we've secured for ourselves. We must appreciate this.

"We require some context about our current standing, but we also need to think more broadly to recognize that if we continue performing as we have regarding results, it won't continue.

"It falls on us as players to address that because we possess the ability to triumph in every match. I truly believe with this squad, considering what we've accomplished here previously, we could embark on a streak and comfortably win games."