Arsenal legend Thierry Henry spotted one ‘weird’ thing Declan Rice did v Sevilla

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Legendary former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has highlighted one strange thing Declan Rice did against Sevilla.

Declan Rice was once again excellent on Tuesday evening, as Arsenal beat Spanish outfit Sevilla 2-1 in a Champions League group stage clash.

Once again playing in the slightly more advanced role that he took up against Chelsea, with Jorginho at the base of the midfield, Rice pressed high and was heavily involved in the final third.

He also dragged the Gunners up the pitch at times, as the 24-year-old produced a couple of powerful, driving runs on the ball. Mikel Arteta will have been delighted to see the former West Ham United man playing with such confidence and getting so involved at both ends of the pitch.

Thierry Henry was certainly impressed by what he saw from Rice. Speaking on CBS Sports Golazo, the former striker, who remains the Arsenal all-time leading goalscorer, spotted something unexpected about the 46-cap England star’s display.

Henry said, “he had a weird role on the night Declan Rice as he was low to build up and high to press…Off the ball, he [Rice] plays as a 10 because he has an eye on their holding midfielder, they wanted to make sure the two holding were never going to be on the ball.”

How Declan Rice stood out for Arsenal v Sevilla

Henry was flagging how, unlike Martin Odegaard who played alongside him, Rice wouldn’t push too far forward to press the Sevilla defence when they were in position. Instead, he would hold his position in the middle of the park, stopping the Spanish club from being able to play through the middle of Arsenal.

When the north London club were on the attack, Rice would look to arrive late, rather than make penetrating runs ahead of the ball. This delayed approach would give him the opportunity to join the attack with the game still being played ahead of him, making it easier for him to pick his passes and guard against any counter attacks.

Arteta’s side had to cling on to their lead towards the end of the match, and in this passage of the play Rice shone in a manner more expected of him. The £105 million club-record signing was brought to the club to help them remain solid when under pressure in big matches, and he did that by helping the Gunners hold on for the win.