Mikel Arteta Reveals The One Word He’d Use To Describe Declan Rice

Arteta waxes lyrical about Declan Rice…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is under no illusions as to the importance of Declan Rice to his side and said that if he could describe him in one word, it would be “lighthouse”, Sky Sports News reports.

Our record signing has been instrumental to our impressive start this campaign, once again leading the pack in the Premier League heading into the Christmas period.

We’re only four points off where we were at this stage last season, which is rather impressive considering that was a club-record start to a Premier League campaign.

Despite costing the club £105million, the former West Ham United skipper’s price tag has barely been mentioned such has been his impact.

Arteta’s tenure at the club has almost been defined by an over-reliance on Thomas Partey, yet with the Ghanaian barely kicking a ball for us this term, we’ve continued to win seamlessly.

“The way he dominates key aspects of the game,” Arteta said about Rice ahead of our clash at Villa Park on Saturday.

“First of all, it’s the way he reads the game, his intelligence, his decision-making on and off the ball, when to pass the ball, how to pass it, where to look, how to execute, and the timing of that, which is very, very relevant, especially in his position.

“And then, there is the fact that he is able to read things before other players do, whether it’s in the middle of the pitch, or whether it’s in the opponent’s box. That is a big advantage.”

Asked to summarise his influence succinctly, the boss said: “It’s something difficult to explain but if I had to put a picture, I would say a lighthouse.”

Rice’s dynamism will certainly be needed against an in-form Aston Villa side who boast the likes of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara in the middle of the park.

It will be interesting to see if Arteta feels Jorginho is required for this game alongside the 24-year-old.