Declan Rice has had some incredible moments in an Arsenal shirt this year.
Late goals against Manchester United and Luton stick out, but perhaps Rice’s greatest moment for the Gunners was a defensive contribution.
Indeed, cast your mind back to the game against Liverpool at Anfield earlier this season, and you’ll remember a remarkable Liverpool counter-attack that finished with Trent Alexander-Arnold rattling the crossbar.
Rice was powerless to stop the shot, but his ability to track three runners at once led to Liverpool having to take on a more difficult shot from a tighter angle.
Rice did a fantastic job in making that attack as difficult as possible, but, he wasn’t alone.
Indeed, William Saliba was also tracking back brilliantly, and now, speaking to The Athletic, Rice has discussed that particular attack and how Saliba’s recovery pace helped Arsenal keep the Reds out.
Declan Rice praises William Saliba’s pace
Rice spoke about stopping that Liverpool attack and Saliba’s recovery pace.
“When I’m backing off, I’m literally thinking, ‘Oh no!’.” Rice said.
“I know Saliba is on my right.”
“He’s rapid.”
William Saliba’s pace is so important
Rice is right to highlight Saliba’s pace as an important attribute.
Arsenal like to play in such a controlling manner that their defenders often push up quite high.
This can leave the Gunners exposed to a breakaway on the counter, but the fact that Saliba is so fast and able to track back with ease allows Arsenal to play with that bit more freedom.
Micky Van de Ven at Tottenham is often praised for his incredible speed, and for good reason, but Saliba doesn’t necessarily get the credit he deserves for his remarkable pace.
The French defender is certainly one of the quickest defenders around, and that helped Arsenal massively in this instance defending against Liverpool.
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