Patrick Vieira has revealed that Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is “one of his favorite players in the Premier League”.
Vieira knows what it takes to achieve greatness in the middle of the park for the Gunners, playing over 400 games for the club between 1996 and 2005, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups along the way.
The 107-time France international also captained Arsenal from May 2002 until his departure and was part of the club’s 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ team.
Declan Rice is the man running things in Arsenal’s engine room these days after arriving from West Ham for a whopping £100m plus add-ons (for BBC Sports) last summer.
The England international, who helped the Three Lions reach their second consecutive European Championship final earlier this summer, has been a huge success at the Emirates, registering seven goals and 10 assists in 52 appearances with a white and red shirt so far.
Rice also ranked in the top three among his teammates for passes completed (2,019), chances created (47), tackles (83) and interceptions (44) in the Premier League last season.
That was enough to help Arsenal finish second to Man City in the Premier League title race, taking the battle to the final day before finally settling for a silver medal.
Arsenal legend Vieira praises Declan Rice
Rice’s performances have certainly caught Vieira’s attention, especially for his ability to make those around him better.
“I like him because he’s a team player and I think when you play in that position you have to be the one who sacrifices for the team,” the Arsenal legend said of Rice (via official website of the club). “You have to win the ball and you have to give it to the players who can make the difference.
“It’s a very difficult position because you work hard for the team, but you might not get as much credit as those who score those goals.”
Vieira added: “When you look at Arsenal last year and hopefully this year again, he’s going to be a big key for the team because he’s going to do all the dirty work to make others look good and enable them. make the difference in the last 30 yards.
“He is one of my favorite players in the Premier League because he sacrifices himself, works hard for the team and is a team player.”
