Alan Shearer names Arsenal’s three ‘outstanding’ players in title-winning season

Alan Shearer has picked out David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice as Arsenal’s ‘key men’ and ‘outstanding’ performers across the club’s title-winning season in the Premier League.

After three successive runners-up finishes, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal finally prevailed to get their hands on the prestigous trophy – and they did so with a game to spare as Bournemouth held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

There were jubilant celebrations as fans flocked to the Emirates to soak up the club’s first title victory in 22 years, with Thierry Henry and Co the last Arsenal team to triumph under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger way back in 2004.

Arsenal’s players and staff gathered at the club’s training ground to watch City’s slip-up and take in the moment of history together, six years on from the team’s FA Cup win – Arteta’s only other piece of major silverware since taking charge.

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Arteta now has the luxury of being able to rest his key players when the north London giants take to the field for their last remaining match of the Premier League campaign away to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Once the dust has settled on Arsenal’s joyous celebrations, Arteta and his troops will look to focus their attentions on what promises to be an intriguing Champions League final against the holders Paris Saint-Germain.

With hopes of a historic double within Arsenal’s grasp, former England and Newcastle striker Shearer took the opportunity to applaud the side’s efforts across what has been a ‘long, hard and stressful road’.

‘They’ve been the best team, they’ve been the most consistent team, they’ve found a way to win games when they weren’t playing that well which you have to do being the champions,’ Shearer said on The Rest Is Football.

‘It’s been a long, hard and stressful road for them but when it’s been that long you have to go through all of that, all that stuff.

‘I’ve been there myself, I know what it feels like. The relief… I can just picture the scene now with all the staff, all the players.

‘They would have all got together in the small hope that City didn’t win at Bournemouth, just in the small hope, just in case.

‘They’ll be absolutely on the way to getting s***faced and so they should because all of the stress has just been released from them.

‘All the hard work, all the dedication, all they’ve had go through, not only this season but last season, the season before, the season before that.

‘They’ve been the best team, they deserve it and I hope they have a great few nights.’

According to Shearer, Raya, Gabriel and Rice stand out above the rest as Arsenal’s ‘go-to’ players on the back of their extraordinary contribution across the campaign.

Asked to name Arsenal’s ‘star men’ across the season, he replied: ‘I think the three outstanding players for Arsenal have been, from back to front, David Raya, the goalkeeper, Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice.

‘I just think those three, for me, have been the outstanding players week after week after week, delivering performance after performance when it got tough.

‘There are periods during a season where you have to knuckle down and you have to accept the criticism, you have to understand you’re not playing well, but I just think those three, for most of the season, have been the brilliant players, the outstanding players, the go-to players.’

Shearer went on to name Arsenal’s goalkeeper as his favourite to win this year’s PFA Player of the Year award.

‘I would actually have those three in one, two and three… David Raya is the player of the season for me,’ Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer, went on.

‘Him, Gabriel and Declan have been outstanding.’

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