The footballing world is anxious to see how Declan Rice performs after making his historic move to Arsenal for a British record £105 million cost.
We’ve been talking about Rice coming to one of the big six teams since the turn of the decade, and it’s time for Rice to step up and demonstrate his talent. This transfer has been years in the making.
Although many anticipate that Rice will flourish at Arsenal, Paul Merson doesn’t have high hopes for the 24-year-old.
In his piece for SportsKeeda, Merson predicted that Rice would struggle, saying that the front-foot possession style of Arsenal would be quite dissimilar to David Moyes’ approach at West Ham and would make it difficult for the midfielder to make an impact there.
Rice could struggle
Merson offered his assessment of Arsenal’s newest acquisition.
Declan Rice won’t be able to fully develop at Arsenal, in my opinion. You don’t play at West Ham with a lot of the ball. If you do, you maintain control to give your defense a break. When Arsenal regains possession of the ball, they advance quickly, according to Merson.
It won’t be easy.
Rice is a tremendously skilled footballer, but just like any other player, your performance may be made or broken by your manager.
Rice played in a no-nonsense system at West Ham, where he didn’t have to do a lot of rapid passing or interplay, but with Arsenal, that will be his main focus.
Similarly, Gareth Southgate and England might experience some culture shock because Rice has never played for a boss like Arteta.
It’s possible that Rice won’t start as strong as many anticipate.