Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have been full of praise for Arsenal star Declan Rice after another brilliant display for the Gunners.
The midfielder has been pivotal for the way the team play under Mikel Arteta in every single phase of the game.
Declan Rice can do it all, from the defensive work to the attacking play, and even set pieces.
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The latest top performance came in Arsenal’s win over Burnley, where the midfielder played a pivotal role once again.
Rice scored and helped set up a goal for the Gunners, as they ran out as 2-0 winners at Turf Moor.
That has only led to further praise for the Arsenal star, who is starting to enter conversations as one of the best in the world.
Declan Rice looks on during Burnley vs Arsenal
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Gary Lineker and Micah Richards believe Declan Rice can do everything at Arsenal
With so much praise for Declan Rice pouring in, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker are just two of the latest to join the discussion.
Whether it’s scoring, assisting or defending, the Arsenal star is becoming quite the all-round midfielder.
Richards gushed over his latest performance when speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, as he said: “I have to identify Declan Rice.
“Declan Rice, he took his game to a next level now, where you’re talking about him as possibly being one of the best in world football.
“And we saw him at West Ham, a very good player. I remember some pundits were criticising him in terms of they didn’t know what he was going to be. Is he a defensive midfielder? Is he an attacking midfielder?”
Gary Lineker quickly responded, “He’s everything,” to which Richards agreed and said, “Exactly that. Everything. He’s a box-to-box midfielder.”
“He can do everything, but he’s consistently putting in these performances where we have to start talking about him as one of the best in world football now.”
Rice has certainly been at the heart of everything for Arsenal, helping to keep them ticking over where possible.
However, while there has been recent praise from Richards and Lineker, there is a different point of view from Paul Scholes.
Declan Rice applauds after Burnley vs Arsenal
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Paul Scholes doesn’t believe Declan Rice can do everything for Arsenal
While Rice has been in the conversation as of late for his all-around game, former England midfielder Paul Scholes doesn’t quite view him the same way.
Instead, he believes the Arsenal star is a defensive player who can chip in with an occasional attacking contribution.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Overlap, he said: “See, I get slagged off for this, but I did a top five the other week, and because I don’t put people like Caicedo and Declan Rice in there, I get stick for it.
“But I just like a different type of midfielder. I like Vitinha at PSG, I think he’s brilliant. I think he’s amazing.
“For Liverpool, I thought Mac Allister was brilliant. Now, he hasn’t started great this year, but I like that type, not so much the attacking midfielder, but the more controlling one, who can do a bit of everything.
“Not just a defensive one who runs around breaking things up. Someone who might score the odd goal here and there, but who’s progressive and does a bit of everything.”
That’s clearly not the same point of view as Richards and Lineker, who truly believe he is in a discussion as one of the best in the world.
Appearances Goals Assists
118 18 24
Declan Rice’s statistics at Arsenal.
It remains to be seen whether Rice can continue developing, as at 26, he still has the peak years of his career ahead of him.
However, he is driving standards at Arsenal and taking them to the next level as it stands.