Graeme Souness says Declan Rice could be a ‘big player’ at Arsenal ’for the next decade’ but doubts he will ever establish himself as one of the ‘great midfielders in world football’.
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Rice made his first Premier League appearance for the Gunners on Saturday as Mikel Arteta’s side made a winning start to the new season, beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at home.
Arsenal spent more than £100m to sign Rice from West Ham earlier in the summer, making the England star one of the most expensive purchases in Premier League history.
Souness believes Rice can justify his price-tag by starring for Arsenal over the next decade but says he needs to add more to his game to be considered a ‘world-class midfielder’.
‘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,’ Souness wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.
‘Firstly, he needs to score more goals. Secondly, he has to make that cute, clever pass forward to create chances for others, instead of being content to go square and safe. Unfortunately, I’m not sure they are qualities that can be coached.
‘So far in the Premier League, Rice has averaged less than two goals a season and less than two assists a season. He is capable of getting more, especially now he is among better players, but I think it might be a mindset issue.
‘He seems happy to perform his defensive duties, which he does excellently, but that is only one part of being a midfield player.
‘Arsenal, compared to West Ham, will spend more time attacking and in the final third. Rice will be patrolling the area 25 yards from goal. When he gets the ball, the way the pitches are today, he should be getting it out of his feet and striking on goal.
‘He should be thinking, “I’m good enough to make the goalkeeper work from here”. He doesn’t do that enough. That is an obvious thing he has to improve on. It comes back to what I said about his mindset.
‘Mikel Arteta won’t have to spend any more than five minutes telling him what he needs to do defensively. It is all there. He covers ground. He breaks things up. He senses danger. He has that side of the game boxed off.
‘I think one day he may become a centre-half but, right now, with his energy, he is best deployed in midfield. That is a discussion for further down the line in his career.
‘Arsenal have signed him as a midfielder, and that is why Arteta has to get to work on making Rice a more decisive and ruthless player when they’re attacking, one who backs himself to become more of a goal threat.
‘This is Arsenal. They want to win the league and challenge Manchester City. You won’t do that without midfield players chipping in with goals. I don’t buy the argument that defensive midfielders don’t need to score goals, either.
‘I’ve heard people say the addition of Rice will be worth the five points Arsenal have to make up on City, based on last season’s standings. I’m sorry, it doesn’t work like that. Football has never been an exact science.
‘Rice will make Arsenal better, no doubt. But how much better? City dropped a lot of silly points last season – they could easily have another year where they go beyond 90 points. It’s not as simple as saying Rice will make the difference.
‘The £100m transfer fee is an incredible amount of money, but I’m sure he will deal with that.
‘You also have to factor in the longevity. He could be a big player for Arsenal for the next decade, if he can avoid serious injury.
‘They’re signing a player who has a very good attitude. There is so much to like about him. He cares. He has a great dynamic with his team-mates and supporters. He is a sound character, I’m sure of that.
‘The challenge for him is to add goals and assists to his game – and only then will we be talking about one of the great midfield players in world football.’
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