Image of Steven Gerrard with insets of Roy Keane with inset of Declan Rice of Arsenal
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Declan Rice would be hoping that by the end of his career, his name is mentioned in the same breath as a footballing legend like Steven Gerrard.
Mark Noble has likened Rice to Gerrard and the similarities between the pair do exist as the 26-year-old is also an all-action midfielder known for crunching into tackles and being a threat in the final third.
The Arsenal dynamo has also been playing a similar box-to-box midfield role to the former Liverpool captain since the 2023/2024 season as well.
Rice is considered world-class as he continues to thrive in his newfound position, especially turning heads in the Champions League last season when he starred against Real Madrid in the Gunners’ 3-0 win.
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Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Steven Gerrard says Arsenal star Declan Rice “needs to” score more goals
But Declan Rice still has a way to go before being regarded as a player who can be comparable to an all-time great like Steven Gerrard.
Roy Keane feels Rice must score more goals if he ever wishes to hit the heights the Champions League winner did.
Steven Gerrard himself told Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel that while the Englishman is a “fantastic” player, upping his goal tally is an area of his game he can improve: “I think he’s been fantastic. I think he’s developed a lot, he’s adding goals to his game, he’s arriving more in the box, I think at the beginning of his career, people saw him just as a six. Fantastic passer, good ball-carrier, I think he’s added a lot more to his game now and he’s more of an all-round midfielder, I love watching him.”
“I think he needs to just keep adding goals and I love the way he’s gone on to the free-kicks and I’d love to see him step forward and start taking penalties because as a midfielder, you want to be that type of guy.”
Patrick Vieira admires Rice and so does Steven Gerrard, who revealed that he would love for the former West Ham United ace to replicate the standards the likes of Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes did.
“You’ve got to get numbers in your game, goals, assists and midfielders nowadays, they’ve got to be around that 15-mark, it used to be 10, now it’s gone to 15 and 20 unlike the days of [Paul] Scholes’ and Lampard’s and stuff and I’d love for him to get to that level and become a real all-round goalscoring midfielder.”
Declan Rice goals compared to Gerrard at 26
The Europa Conference League winner would appreciate Steven Gerrard’s word of advice.
Rice is already a class act but like most players, he would be hoping to be remembered as one of the greats of the game like his fellow countryman is.
But in terms of scoring goals, Rice is on track to reach Gerrard’s level when comparing their respective stats at the age of 26.
While Rice has just two fewer goals (nine compared to 11) than Steven Gerrard did when they were both the same age, he could very well surpass him in the future as he adapts to playing further forward.
Elite players are constantly looking to improve and the England international will be looking to do the same.