Arsenal have a squad filled with top players, and Declan Rice is right up there with the best.
The Englishman joined Mikel Arteta’s Gunners from West Ham United for a club-record fee before the start of the 2023/24 season.
Rice had an outstanding debut campaign at the Emirates Stadium, and he played a key part in helping the Gunners challenge for the Premier League title.
The former Hammers star is a complete midfielder, but there are certain traits he would like to take from other top players who play in the middle of the park.
Here’s what he told Goal about some of them, including an Arsenal teammate.
Declan Rice raves about Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard
Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid for just £30 million after a six-month loan spell at the Emirates in 2022 (BBC).
There were plenty of doubters who questioned Arteta’s decision to sign the Norway international, but he has silenced all of his critics since.
Odegaard is one of the best players in the Premier League now, if not the world. He is simply a joy to watch, and the way he conducts himself off the pitch is classy as well.
Rice has been watching and playing alongside Odegaard for over a year now, and he seems to be a big fan of his skipper.
In a video on Goal, a number of elite midfielders were put in front of Rice and the Arsenal man had to pick one superpower he would like to take from those names to add to his game.
When Odegaard’s name was prompted, Rice quickly said: “Wow! He’s got everything. His skill!”
Click the play button in the tweet below to watch what Rice said about other midfielders like Zinedine Zidane, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and also his boss, Arteta.
Rice and Odegaard are about to become even better
Arsenal had a fantastic 2023/24 season in the Premier League, and almost all of their players stepped up and delivered for Arteta.
Both Rice and Odegaard were tremendous for the Gunners, but we feel they are about to go to the next level because of one reason – Mikel Merino.
Arsenal are about to sign Merino, and the Spaniard will definitely improve their midfield.
He is expected to play the Granit Xhaka role, which will aid Odegaard in the attacking third, while many pundits believe Rice will get better because of Merino too.
If things go to plan, Arsenal could have the best midfield in the country this season.
