Declan Rice used Arsenal’s pre-season defeat against Manchester United as an opportunity to learn and improve as a player.

Arsenal signed Declan Rice from West Ham United in mid-July, just before the club’s tour of the United States.

Rice was immediately involved with his new team, featuring in a 5-0 win over the MLS All-Stars. But his first friendly start was much less impressive, as Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners over Mikel Arteta’s side.

The Telegraph report that Rice responded to the defeat by going through video clips with one of Arteta’s coaches.

The coach pointed out that Rice’s incorrect positioning in midfield has stopped the team from building a pattern of play.

As pre-season progressed, Rice asked for more of those meetings, wanting to learn as much as he could as quickly as possible.

That seems to have paid dividends, with Arsenal going on to win the Community Shield over Manchester City later in pre-season, before winning their Champions League group and shooting to the top of the Premier League.

On the way, Rice scored an injury-time goal against Manchester United in a 3-1 win.

Perhaps United had made the mistake of thinking their friendly victory was the blueprint for success in the league, but Rice had evidently pushed on a lot since that day.

The Telegraph report that Rice now has a framed picture of his celebration against United hanging on the wall of his box at the Emirates Stadium.

Particularly in light of the many Arsenal midfielders currently sidelined through injury, Rice has become a pivotal member of the team and the squad this season.

The 24-year-old’s willingness to learn from his mistakes and improve is undoubtedly a big part of that.