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Arsenal have built one of the best squads in the Premier League but Steven Gerrard is gutted his old team didn’t sign one of Mikel Arteta’s favourites.
It takes one to know one is a well-worn phrase, but in football parlance, it has its place when former players are assessing the current crop.
Being an elite-level footballer doesn’t always equate to being as good a manager with Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane and the Gunners’ own Mikel Arteta being some of the best who made the transition. Steven Gerrard hasn’t quite convinced despite relative success at Rangers although his judgement of players can’t be questioned.
Why Steven Gerrard wanted Liverpool to sign Declan Rice
The legendary Liverpool skipper was a powerhouse midfielder in his own time, capable of sitting in front of the defence, of going box-to-box or of being a creative force from a more advanced position. He knows what it takes to be world class anywhere in the engine room. A phrase he has now used to describe a player who he wishes that Liverpool signed but who Arsenal now have at their disposal.
"I love Declan Rice,” Gerrard proclaimed on the Smith Brothers podcast. “I've been singing his praises for a long time. I coached Villa against West Ham before he went to Arsenal, I didn't realise how big he was because I hadn't met him in person.
“You get in the tunnel and think, 'oh my god, that's some profile for a midfielder'. If you're building a midfielder, he's got a body to die for. If you're 6ft1in, 6ft2in, and have the legs, the power, that's the midfielder you want to be. He was calm in possession, an animal out of it, up and down, I really like him as a person as well."
"I think he's really getting into that class where he's becoming a world-class midfielder. He's maybe one we should've tried to grab from West Ham. I don't know whether we did but imagine him in this midfield now."
Why Arteta loves Declan Rice
Rice has more than just a physical presence about him and the technical ability needed to thrive at the highest level, he also has the mindset and mentality that is essential to cope with the demads of the modern game. Rice might not be Arsenal’s captain, but Arteta has also praised what he brings on and off the pitch: "Unbelievable, his all-round play, his leadership on the pitch, the amount of balls that he regained as well that allowed us to run; he has been incredibly consistent this year again, and what a massive player for us he is.”
Arsenal bought Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard to cope when Rice isn’t available, but the England international is, probably, one of the hardest players to replace alongside Gabriel or William Saliba. Liverpool’s loss is Arsenal’s gain and Rice could well be on track to achieve something that even Gerrard couldn’t in his pomp.
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