Ray Parlour has compared one Arsenal star to a club legend after what the pundit saw on the weekend against Tottenham in the north London derby.
Mikel Arteta’s side sent out another big statement in the Premier League title race with a nervy 3-2 win away to Spurs, with goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz securing what might be one of Arsenal’s most important wins of the season.
Whilst the likes of David Raya were criticised for their performance on the day, Arsenal did enough to secure all three points at a ground that in recent years has been one of the Gunners’ most difficult to travel to.
And Arsenal legend Parlour was impressed by one player on the day at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.
Declan Rice compared to Gilberto Silva after ‘great’ Arsenal display vs Tottenham
Speaking on TalkSport, Parlour likened Declan Rice’s performance against Tottenham to Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva, with the England international again impressing in midfield despite conceding a penalty in the second-half.
Rice has transformed Arsenal’s midfield into one of the best in all of Europe, with the Gunners somehow getting a bargain transfer despite splashing out a club-record fee of £105m to sign the 25-year-old dynamo.
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Indeed, Rice is well on his way to joining the likes of Gilberto in becoming a legend at Arsenal, and Parlour was impressed with what he saw from the former West Ham captain in the north London derby.
Parlour said: “Declan Rice, I keep praising him, he was playing a bit forward because Partey was there, but he does such a great job defensively as well where he drops into the back four when he has to, he defends crosses. We had a very similar player, Gilberto Silva, who did very very well for Arsenal.”
Rice showed in the north London derby why he’s an Arsenal legend in the making
Claiming an assist and winning a game-high five tackles, Rice showed in the north London derby why he’s on course to become a modern-day legend for Arsenal in the years to come.
The 25-year-old England star has been a revelation for the Gunners this season and has shown already why Arteta was right to chase Rice last summer, with the midfielder transforming the club on his own.
Whilst conceding a penalty was reckless from Rice, the former West Ham star will learn from his mistake, and the midfielder will want to give it his all in the next match against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.