Declan Rice wins BBC Premier League Player of the Year award after Arsenal title triumph

View Image

Declan Rice has been named as the BBC's Premier League Player of the Year for the role he played in helping Arsenal clinch a first domestic title in more than 20 years.

The Gunners were crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2004 in the penultimate round of fixtures after Manchester City were beaten by Bournemouth . And after three consecutive years of finishing second in the league, Rice was a major player in their long-awaited title triumph - a feat which has been recognised.

Rice beat Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes to the inaugural award, which was decided by votes from journalists, pundits and experts from the BBC .

The England midfielder's marked a double triumph for Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta being voted Premier League Manager of the Year.

Chris Sutton, Danny Murphy, Dion Dublin, Glenn Murray, Pat Nevin, Nedum Onuoha, Shay Given, Theo Walcott, Ellen White and Fara Williams were among those who voted.

Igor Thiago finished in third place after a stellar season for Brentford, while Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly was named Young Player of the Year.

Unsurprisingly given his triumph in the main category, Rice was among five Arsenal players included in the awards' Premier League team of the season.

David Raya was selected in goal while Gabriel, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber also got the nod. O'Reilly was included at left-back, with Fernandes and Thiago also making the cut after finishing second and third in the Player of the Year vote respectively.

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.