Owen Hargreaves has suggested that Declan Rice has the same kind of personality as Jude Bellingham, and said that everybody loves the Arsenal midfielder.
Hargreaves was speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show after the midfielder scored the stoppage-time goal which set Arsenal on their way to a dramatic win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Declan Rice opened his account for the Gunners with a strike in the final minutes which put Mikel Arteta’s men 2-1 up against United.
Rice has definitely hit the ground running since making the move to the Emirates in the summer. He has taken little time to adapt to life in Arteta’s ranks. And it was clear after the full-time whistle just how much the Arsenal supporters have taken to Rice.
Hargreaves suggests Rice is similar to Bellingham
He sent the ground into a frenzy after his strike on Sunday. And given how Rice has steadily improved, there will be plenty of excitement that there will be a lot more to come from the England international in the coming years.
Hargreaves believes that Rice has everything needed to reach the very top – and he would be delighted to see him get to that level.
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“First of all, everybody loves Declan because he is such a lovely guy, even for us when we do interviews. He’s a super player. I don’t think he’s going to be world-class further forward as an eight. I think he’s world-class as a defensive midfield player, a bit like Rodri. But it’s interesting. Mikel’s playing him a bit further forward because he’s trying to get a little more out of him, which I quite like because I do think Declan can add more goals, he can add more assists,” he told The Kelly and Wrighty Show.
“I love Declan because I just think he deserved the opportunity to compete for trophies. And I think his personality, a bit like Jude Bellingham, they have this inner desire to not be content. And I like that.”
Certainly, Jude Bellingham is the most exciting central midfielder in world football right now. So for Rice to be compared with him in any capacity is a huge statement.
Obviously, you would think that the pair are going to play together a lot for their country over the next few years. So that will certainly help motivate the 24-year-old to keep pushing.
It is great news for Arsenal. They did take a gamble breaking their club-record to bring Rice in from West Ham in the summer.
But the early signs suggest that Rice is going to vindicate their decision to spend so much.