Garth Crooks believes Arsenal made the right decision by letting Granit Xhaka depart and upgrading their midfield with Declan Rice.
Rice cost Arsenal £105 million to sign and I recently read that the Englishman has been so good for Arsenal that there hasn’t been much discussion about how much it cost the Gunners to bring him on board.
Some players (who I’m sure you’re aware of) have been purchased for exorbitant sums and have failed to live up to their billing. Which leaves pundits mocking clubs for signing them.
Thankfully, Rice is not one of them and has altered the Arsenal midfield’s dynamics. He is all action from start to finish, and football needs to design a new position for this all-around monster.
He is a powerful player and one of Arsenal’s most essential players. He’s effective in the middle, managing the team with his brilliant abilities in defence and initiating attack plays.
He’s simply too excellent, whether defending or moving across the pitch. He is now the Premier League’s finest DM. (Rodri fans would argue with this, and it is okay; they have their right to.)
But Garth Crooks has claimed in his BBC piece that Rice is already a better player than he was at West Ham and is surely a crucial part of Arsenal’s title challenge. “Rice was impressive when he played for West Ham, but he has added a real authority to his game,” Crooks said.
“It could prove to be the difference between Arsenal winning the title because of his reliability and them losing it with unpredictability and occasionally volatile Granit Xhaka. I know who I prefer.”
Can you consider Arsenal’s midfield without Declan Rice? Sorry, I can’t.
Darren N
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