Arsenal star who ‘does everything’ singled out for being a ‘9/10 every week’ despite ‘quiet’ reaction
Ian Wright has heaped praise on Declan Rice, who is going under the radar despite another solid performance for Arsenal over the weekend.
Signed for a club-record £100million plus £5m in add-ons from West Ham this summer, Rice was expected to hit the ground running following his move from West Ham this summer.
He has done exactly that, seamlessly slotting into the Arsenal midfield alongside Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz/Fabio Vieira.
After scoring against Manchester United two weeks ago, Rice was very impressive in the Gunners’ first match after the international break.
His ball-winning ability in the middle of the pitch was a huge reason why his side picked up a fairly comfortable win at Everton on Sunday.
It would be fair to say that Rice’s performances are not getting the praise they deserve and Arsenal legend Wright has picked up on that.
Speaking on Premier League Productions, Wright said the lack of noise proves how well he is playing, with the England midfielder putting in an eight or nine out of ten on a weekly basis.
Declan Rice. Immense again. pic.twitter.com/LPRspFTmlw
— Jason Soutar (@jbsoutar) September 17, 2023
“The fact that Declan is quiet, and we aren’t speaking about him, it proves that he has gone about his job and he has done very well,” the former England striker said. “That’s exactly what he does.
“We saw against Manchester United when he got all the headlines, but he scored the goal. But he has been playing similarly to that.
“Declan is 8/9 out of 10 every week. When he plays like he did this week, and he doesn’t score.
“This is exactly what he did against Manchester United. He goes about it quietly and efficiently, stomps things out, progresses the ball and defensively he does everything.
“You are always going to get that out of him.”
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Sunday’s win against Everton was the first time the Gunners claimed three points at Goodison Park since Arsene Wenger’s time in charge.
Going to the blue half of Merseyside has proved to be very difficult for Mikel Arteta, who played for the Toffees between 2005 and 2011 before a move to the Emirates.
After guiding Arsenal to their first win at Goodison Park in six years, Arteta praised his players’ “intelligence” and “fight” to get over the line.
“We took the game into the areas we wanted for long and we were really solid,” he said. “We gave very, very little away. They haven’t created a single chance.
“It’s about intelligence but also about the fight.
“Obviously they are very strong in the box so we need alternatives. It’s about creating a story in the game and the players have to sense when is the best moment to do it.”
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