Mikel Arteta says Declan Rice still has much more room to grow, despite believing he is already one of the best midfielders in the world.The Gunners midfielder returned to the starting 11 to score twi...
Mikel Arteta says Declan Rice still has much more room to grow, despite believing he is already one of the best midfielders in the world.
The Gunners midfielder returned to the starting 11 to score twice to help secure a 3-2 victory against Bournemouth.
Arsenal had found themselves a goal down after an error from Gabriel allowed Evanilson to score, before the defender equalised six minutes later.
And Rice netted twice in the second half to secure the win for Arteta’s side, having missed the previous victory over Aston Villa due to a knee injury.
“Yes, for me, yes,” Arteta said when asked if Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world.
“For me, the ones that we have are the best. Declan is constantly adding things to his game. He’s constantly adding things to his role in the team. And I don’t see where he can stop because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve.”
Arteta revealed it was touch and go as to whether Rice could even be involved against Bournemouth.
“He was so disappointed not to play against Villa,” the Spaniard explained. “He really wanted it. He tried in the morning. It was nowhere near a possibility. He wanted to train the next day. It wasn’t a possibility. Until the last minute, I asked him, how are you feeling? He said, I’m in. And he showed that he was big time in.”
The Arsenal boss also praised the response of Gabriel following his early mistake in the game.
“I really love, today, the next step of the team in terms of individual personality and presence,” Arteta said.
“think what Gabriel has done after making a big mistake to concede the goal, the way he reacted to that, the way he played afterward, the way he transmitted energy after that, it was remarkable.”
Category: General Sports
