MIKEL Arteta is ready to demand even more from “unique” summer signing Declan Rice after hailing the impact that the midfielder is already having on the Arsenal squad.

With the first international break of the season disrupting the Premier League proceedings, it feels like a lifetime ago when Rice scored his first goal for the Gunners in their 3-1 victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

Rice has since played every minute of England’s two games during that break – a 1-1 draw in the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday, and a 3-1 friendly win over Scotland on Tuesday.

Now it’s back to business with Arsenal, and Rice will be looking to help the Gunners maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign away to Everton on Sunday. On paper Arteta’s side will be much-fancied to beat a Toffees team who have managed just one point from their opening four games – but as the old adage goes, the game isn’t played on paper.

It’s the type of fixture that could well be won in the middle of the park. And while the honour of wearing the captain’s armband lies with Martin Odegaard, it is Rice’s “very natural” leadership that could prove key for the Gunners at Goodison.

“He’s a great kid,” said Arteta. “I think he’s got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself, and then a bit of banter as well. Being around the boys and the staff in a really humble way, I think he’s fitted in brilliantly.”

After watching Rice hit the back of the net in the 96th minute against United, Arteta was quick to praise the game-changing composure on display.

The Arsenal boss said after the match: “We did it yesterday [in training], but yesterday your heart rate is at 80 and today it’s at 190, so to produce the same level of quality when the pressure is on in that moment is just unique. You need to have that quality and that composure and he showed it today.”

But that doesn’t mean Arteta doesn’t want, and expect, more from his £105m man – especially having now seen what Rice is capable of on a daily basis. When asked whether Arsenal’s newfound hero can add more goal involvements to his game, Arteta was quick to respond: “For sure, and when you see the technical ability that he has, when he’s shooting from range, his accuracy, the power that he generates with no space, with both legs – he can do it with both feet.

“He’s got the timing to arrive in the box, and the position [he arrives in] will determine a lot how many goals he will score because, at the end, it’s about how consistent you are arriving there.”