While on punditry duty, Irish winger James McClean has expressed his belief that Declan Rice is overrated.
The Arsenal midfielder is widely regarded as one of the best players in his position in European football, which justified the Gunners breaking their transfer record to sign him.
In Rice’s debut season at the Emirates, he demonstrated his quality as one of the premier players in his role globally.
He is also a key starter for the England national team, and their success at this year’s Euros is expected to hinge significantly on his midfield performances.
McClean acknowledges Rice’s talent as a very good midfielder but contends that he is overrated, pointing out that he does not consistently deliver at the level of players like Toni Kroos and Rodri.
He said, as quoted by The Sun:
“I think Declan Rice is very overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a very good footballer, but the way the English media wax lyrical about him, I think it’s completely over the top.
“For me, he’s not world-class. I don’t think he gets in the Man City side ahead of Rodri, I don’t think he gets in, I know Kroos is retired but to me Toni Kroos is world-class, he dictates the game, Rodri dictates the game.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Rice has been in fantastic form for club and country, so we do not need McClean to consider him a world-class player.
This is only his first season at a top club, and we expect him to blossom and win trophies with us.
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Rice is still relatively young. He still has a lot to learn and develop. And with the good coaching and quality teammates environment he finds himself at Arsenal right now, the player can become the very best in his position.