Arsenal fans could hit back after Declan Rice's post-Napoli comments

Arsenal's successful start to their Champions League campaign was followed by a questionable decision by Declan Rice. The Premier League champions claimed a 1-0 win away to Napoli on Wednesday, courtesy of Martin Odegaard's second-half goal.

The Gunners captain continued his strong start to the season with his winning strike at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, marking his fourth goal of the campaign. Mikel Arteta's side will hope to go one step further in Europe this time round, following their final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in May.

The aftermath of Arsenal's triumph abroad saw Rice take a risky stance on the Ballon d'Or race, while one star who started the clash was deemed to have missed an opportunity to impress.

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Rice snubs team-mates

Rice has risked feeling the wrath of Arsenal fans after admitting he'd like to see Tottenham icon Harry Kane win the Ballon d'Or. The midfielder was nominated for the award alongside fellow team-mates William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes after clinching the Premier League title last season.

The Bayern Munich striker is among the favourites to win after scoring 61 goals for the club on the way to securing a second consecutive Bundesliga title. The England captain now has the backing of his international team-mate, who revealed his stance after Wednesday's victory.

Rice said: "Yeah for sure (I’m proud), second year in a row nominated, it’s obviously really good, I’m really proud. Obviously I know who I want to win it, I’d love to see Harry Kane win it, so I’m wishing him all the best in that. Kane has never won the Ballon d’Or, but this is surely as good a chance as he’s going to get."

Merino 'rusty' verdict

Mikel Merino earned his first start of the season in the victory against the Serie A side. The Spaniard returned to club duties late after winning the World Cup with team-mates David Raya and Martin Zubimendi.

He's since been eased back into the team in the opening weeks of the season and he's come off the bench in all three of Arsenal's league games, totalling 46 minutes of action. He played 65 minutes against Napoli and his performance was labelled as "rusty" by Gunners icon Martin Keown.

He said: "I thought Mikel Merino coming back into midfield missed an opportunity tonight. We missed him last season but I thought he was a little rusty on his first start for a while. But overall it’s looking good for Arsenal. The drive and determination and hunger is there."