Popular pundit, Paul Merson has urged Arsenal to sign West Ham player, Declan Rice because they need him more than Chelsea.
Merson believes the youngster’s mind is all about discipline and excellence and this will make him an asset for the Gunners.
According to him, Chelsea being linked to him is bad news for Arsenal because they need the holding midfield player more since they have no one currently occupying that position in a disciplined manner.
He added that Arsenal has not had a disciplined DM since Gilberto Silva and they cannot progress as a team without addressing such issues.
His words, “Chelsea have been linked with him, but I don’t know why Arsenal aren’t looking at Declan Rice,”
“Arsenal are crying out for a holding midfield player. They don’t need a midfielder who’s going to be on the edge of the opposition box, they need a disciplined defensive midfielder, who is going to sit in front of the back four and organise the side; one who, when he gets the ball, gives it simple with 10-yard passes.
“It’s such a hard job and that’s why I can’t believe Arsenal aren’t going in for a player like Rice.
“A player like Rice can allow the attacking players to flourish and it gives the central defenders the chance to be better than what they are. I don’t care who you are in football, Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and even a Virgil van Dijk, if you’ve got people running at you left, right and centre every minute, they are going to go past you on occasions.”
“Arsenal haven’t really had a disciplined defensive midfielder since Gilberto Silva. Everyone talks about the club never really replacing Patrick Vieira, and of course, but they never replaced Gilberto either,”
“There are players in the current team that are meant to do that job but they don’t have the discipline to do it, and that needs addressing.”
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