Declan Rice has revealed that Arsenal coach Gabriel Heinze has been ‘unbelievable’ behind the scenes since his arrival in the summer.
Last summer, Mikel Arteta appointed Heinze as his coach for the Gunners’ defence, and the Argentinian has taken the Gunners to the next level.
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So far this season, the North London club have conceded just 25 goals in all competitions and have become the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to keep 20 clean sheets.
Under Heinze, Arsenal are conceding an average of just 0.66 goals per game, proving that Rice is spot on to highlight his work at the Emirates Stadium.
Declan Rice says Gabriel Heinze has been ‘unbelievable’ at Arsenal
Declan Rice claims that Gabriel Heinze has taken Arsenal to a new level this season by making the team’s defence so well-drilled.
The Gunners ground out a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday to book their ticket to next month’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
The North London club are labelled ‘boring’ by many opposition supporters, but in reality, Arsenal have just become so well organised under Heinze and Arteta.
Speaking about Arsenal’s coaching staff on CBS Golazo, Rice admitted: “Our manager here has total control of everything.
“From the bottom to the top of the football club, everyone listens to him. You can’t step out of line. We all trust his work.
“Heinze has come in this year, defensive coach, he’s been unbelievable. Everyone is so well drilled.”
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The 26-year-old has also been so impressed by the team’s ability to win in different ways, and he claims, ‘that is all that matters’.
“This year, we came against a lot of low blocks, really tough to break down, but we are finding different ways to win football matches. That is all that matters,” he added.
Declan Rice explains Arsenal’s game plan vs Chelsea
Rice admits that Arsenal’s priority against Chelsea was reaching the Carabao Cup final rather than producing an exciting performance.
He said: “Going into the game, we knew we had the lead in the tie. We said to each other before the game, ‘We’re one game away from Wembley, how much do you want it?’
“We haven’t been there for many years, and today wasn’t just about playing nice football, sometimes in a semi-final it comes down to heart, desire and how much you want to win the game.”
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