Declan Rice is on the boil - the stats don't lie! Graeme Souness said the 105m man won't be...
Daily Mail As Rice, Rice, Baby reverberated from the Emirates speakers on Sunday afternoon, Declan Rice had raised his head towards the deafening cries of Arsenal supporters.
The season is just over three weeks old, yet the Gunners faithful are already aware that if a title bid is to follow, Rice will truly be crucial.
Rice, 24, was signed to shield the defence, quickly disperse play to start attacks and make an occasional foray forward.
Mikel Arteta, publicly and privately, is not overly concerned about how many goals or assists Rice will gain this season. That is not his main remit. Though he is already contributing to that other side of his game critics so often point to when scrutinising him. Graeme Souness wrote in his Mail Sport column last month: Is Declan Rice a great player? Not yet, but he could be, if he can improve on these two very important aspects of being a world-class midfielder.
Firstly, he needs to score more goals. Secondly, he has to make that cute, clever pass forward to create chances, instead of being content to go square and safe. Im not sure they are qualities that can be coached.
