Kevin De Bruyne mentioned three current Arsenal players he’s afraid of this this season and admits Arsenal is the only club that can stop City from winning another Premier League title this season
Kevin De Bruyne mentioned three current Arsenal players he’s afraid of this this season and admits Arsenal is the only club that can stop City from winning another Premier League title this season
Stephen Warnock has praised Declan Rice and his reliability for Arsenal after his most-recent display for the club.
You could argue Declan Rice’s performance at his old stomping ground on Sunday was one of his best performances in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old, now taking set-pieces, assisted twice and scored a brilliant curling effort to rub salt into the West Ham wounds as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal secured a thumping 6-0 win.
Former Premier League left-back Stephen Warnock thinks Declan Rice is ‘so reliable’ and someone who just ‘doesn’t want to come off the pitch’, as he told The Football Show on Sky Sports.
The England international has been a machine in the middle of the park for the Gunners, playing that box-to-box role with ease and starting almost every game.
Only against PSV, in the last group game of the Champions League, and the opening League Cup tie at Brentford, was the new Arsenal fan favourite not selected to start.
That’s a lot of minutes he is already racking up for the team, but he can’t stop there because the Premier League title is now at its most crucial stage, not forgetting that the Champions League knockout stages have begun.
Declan Rice’s reliability to Arsenal
“He has been excellent,” said Warnock. “He has tasted defeat a couple of times against his former club and wanted to go back and try to get a victory.
“For £100 million, people will say it’s a lot of money, but in today’s game, the quality that he has and he possesses. He keeps the game very simple. When he needs to grab it by the scruff of the neck, he is able to do that.
“He is maturing into a brilliant footballer. He is only going to get better because of the players in and around him.
“The great thing is, I know Roy Keane and Gary Neville spoke about this after the game, he is so robust. He is so reliable. Plays game after game. Doesn’t want to come off the pitch. He doesn’t want to be substituted. He wants to play every single minute. He is a great professional and a great signing for Arsenal.”
The most important Arsenal player?
This time last season, Arsenal lost William Saliba at the back through injury and he wouldn’t return, which in the end, cost them the Premier League title.
People can talk about goals all they like or needing a number nine, it’s the defence that collapsed and saw Manchester City become champions of England once again.
You would argue that Saliba will be as important during these coming months, but someone like Rice could be even more important.
If Arsenal can manage to keep those three on the field, alongside possibly Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, then some sort of trophy should be coming to the Emirates.
