Durham claims Arsenal 'become Everton' without Declan Rice
Arsenal's League Cup exit at the hands of Fleetwood Town has prompted a bold claim from talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham, who believes the Gunners are a fundamentally different, weaker side whenever Declan Rice is absent.
Arteta's side crashed out of the competition this week, losing 5-3 on penalties to the League Two outfit after Viktor Gyokeres cancelled out Fleetwood's opener to send the tie to spot kicks. Rice did not feature in the match.
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Durham did not hold back when assessing what the result says about Arsenal's reliance on the midfielder. He said: “I had a look at the Arsenal make up and there's one man that I thought was key to everything and it's just enhanced his reputation even more by being there. And that is Declan Rice. My hot take this week is that fundamentally, without Declan Rice, Arsenal become Everton. That's what happens. There's some good players at Arsenal and there's some good players at Everton. It's not necessarily the biggest insult in the world. Everton are trying to get to the European places; they're not a relegation team anymore but without Declan Rice, Arsenal are basically Everton.”
He continued to build the case for Rice being undervalued despite his standing at the club. “You see, Declan Rice is underrated. If you look at his numbers they are absolutely phenomenal. His assist rate in the Premier League this season is incredible. If you look at his assists since he got to Arsenal they are amazing. His goal involvements, 50 plus inside three and a bit seasons. For a central midfielder who's not always in advanced positions the ground he covers, the knowledge of the game, the running of the game. Everything about him is world class and we've been underrating him for a long time. So in a week where we've had a Ballon d'Or winner in Harry Kane and in a week where Jude Bellingham produced an amazing bit of skill to get a winner for Real Madrid, we've got some great English players. Declan Rice is right up there with them and I think without him, Arsenal lack something seriously needed in their team and in their midfield.”
Durham questions overall performance
Beyond the Rice debate, Durham felt Arsenal's display was poor regardless of personnel, pointing to the underlying numbers from the match. “On the balance of play, 59 touches in the opposition box. Not that many shots on target (7), a couple of great saves from the Fleetwood keeper. You could look at Havertz and Gyokeres who both started. Gyokeres got a goal but it was really scrappy. He didn't know too much about it. Neither of them performed particularly well but I was thinking, how can this happen? This miracle. It's the preserve of English football cup competitions that the champions, who took PSG all the way to penalties, go to a side in the bottom half of League Two that aren't very good.”
The defeat ends Arsenal's involvement in this season's League Cup, with the focus now shifting back to the Premier League and Champions League as Arteta looks to manage his squad through a congested fixture schedule. Quotes via Football365.
