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Gary Neville thinks Mikel Arteta has just done something quite weird at Arsenal
Gary Neville has been speaking about Declan Rice and Arsenal after Mikel Arteta decided to put the England international on set piece duty.
The 48-year-old made the comments on The Overlap for Sky Sports.
So, what did Gary Neville think of Mikel Arteta putting Declan Rice on corners at Arsenal? Let’s take a look…
What Gary Neville said about Declan Rice
Well, the 48-year-old expressed a bit of shock at Arsenal’s No.41 taking corners, given his aerial dominance and physique.
Neville Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane and Jill Scott: “I was watching the Arsenal West Ham game. Declan Rice is taking set pieces. I said to the stats guy – who is an Arsenal fan – when did he start taking set pieces?
“They scored two (against West Ham) from set pieces and I was interested in the idea. Seeing a 6ft 2in or 6ft 3in player on set pieces, you wouldn’t ordinarily think it would happen.”
Rice – who Neville thinks Manchester United should have signed – often scored towering headers from corners for West Ham, so it was a bold decision from Arteta to place his man on dead ball duty.
However, it has wholly paid off as Arsenal become a dominant force from set pieces with the 25-year-old stood over the ball.
Mikel Arteta is finding marginal gains for Arsenal
People do not usually associate Arsenal with being a menacing side from set pieces, although Arteta has clearly seen the benefits in making his team a force from dead ball situations.
The Spaniard has arguably found a marginal gain for Arsenal in that sense, with most of the 41-year-old’s work since replacing Unai Emery being based on slick patterns of attacking play and building moves from the back.
In our view, it is very smart from Arteta – Manchester City and Liverpool have very few weaknesses, with both also possessing the experience of a title race, so it is important for Arsenal to find a marginal gain such as becoming a powerhouse from set pieces, which can give the north Londoners an edge.