Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Patrick Vieira says ‘underrated’ Arsenal star is actually one of his ‘favourite’ players
Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira knows a good player when he sees one.
The Frenchman, who is an absolute icon of the Premier League and world football, shareꩵd the pitꦆch with some of the greatest players in the history of the game.
The lik🅷es of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Mald🌼ini and Alessandro Del Piero among other greats were all his teammates at one point.
Vieira has a better eye for talent than most others, and he has now claimed that he 🦹is a huge fan of one current Arsenal player.
Patrick Vieira explains why Arsenal’s Declan Rice is one of his favourite players
Arsenal smashed their transfer record to sign Declan Rice in the summer of 2023.
The England international was already one of the best midfielders in ღthe Premier League at the time, but he has𒁃 now gone up to a whole new level.
Rice has played both in a box-to-box𒅌 role as well as a number six under Arteta and he has excelled in both positions over the last 12 𝔉months.
The jury is still out about which Rice’s best position is, but that doesn’t change the fac💖t that he is one of the best in the country in both roles.
Vieira, who is arguably the greatest midfielder in the history of the Premier League, has now claimed that Ric🍃e iไs one of his favourite players.
He said in a video released by Arsenal on Tuesday: “I like him because he is a team player, and I think when ♛you play in that position you have to be the one who sacrifices yourself for the team.
“You have to win the ball, and you have to give it to the players who can make the difference, and it is a really difficult position, because you work hard for the team but you may not get a lot of credit like the guys who score those goa🌳ls.
“When you’re looking at the Arsena🦩l from last year, and I hope this year again, he will be an important key for the team, because he will do all the dirty work, who will make the other ones look good, and to allow the ones to make a difference in the last 30 yards.
“He is one of my favourite players in the Premier League, bec♈ause he sacr𒅌ifices himself, he works hard for the team, and he is a team player.”
Declan Rice’s position could change soon
Rice played a big chunk of the 2023/24 season as a box-to-box midfielder and his numbers there prove that he was really good – seven goals and🔯 10 assists in all competitions.
The England star, branded as a ‘very﷽ underrated player’ by Don Hutchison on , started in the same role in the first game of this season against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Thomas Partey played as a six.
However, we think that will change in the coming w🦂eeks.
Arsenal are close to signing Mikel Merino,🅷 and the Spanish midfielder is expected to be deployed in the Granit Xhaka role as a left-sided number eightﷺ.
That would push Rice back to a defensive midfield role, which was always his position b♑efore he joined the Gunners in 2023.