Declan Rice, Arsenal’s unsung hero
One player who been unbelievably impressive so far since joining the club is Declan Rice. Anyone who’s been following England or even West Ham knew he was good, but I don’t think anyone realised he was THIS good.
Arteta has clearly worked him magic and is bringing out only the best of Declan Rice. A player that when he’s moving with the ball, truly looks like he’s gliding on top of the pitch. He’s been better than I ever expected him to be, and I’m pleasantly surprised with what we’ve already began to achieve with him in the squad.
Mainly sitting just in front of the backline, Rice offers so much to this Arsenal squad and Arteta’s system. Playing as an anchor for the squad, he looks to keep everything calm and grounded. Protecting the defence, but also always seems to be the one who’s starting the attack, spreading the play as wide as he can and using himself as the path from back to front.
He truly is so much more than I ever saw at West Ham and shows that with a great manager like Mikel Arteta who looks to be bringing only the best out of him, no offence to any of the managers that Rice previously has played under, but Arteta seems to have instantly connected with the midfielder and from what we’ve seen so far, there’s only more to come.
Having him come off against Tottenham in the London derby clearly affected the style of play and without him in the centre we look all over the place. Jorginho is a great player and will be able to do the job of covering Rice when needed but the difference between how the two play and both bring different qualities to the squad.
Declan Rice is truly world class and worth every penny we spent of him. With such a big price tag on his head, pressure was always going to be on his shoulders, but he hasn’t looked at all fazed and has just slipped into the squad like he’s been here for years.
What’s your thoughts Gooners? How impressed are you with Rice so far?
Daisy Mae
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