Kalvin Phillips says he was ‘gobsmacked’ after seeing how ‘tall and strong’ one Arsenal player is

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Mikel Arteta hasn’t just built a top-quality team at Arsenal, he has assembled a physically imposing side as well.

The Gunners, for years, were mocked for being too soft and small. Teams would often take advantage of them physically, and Arsenal had no response.

Now, thanks to the transfer decisions Arteta and Edu have made in recent years, no club in the world is capable of outmuscling Arsenal on the pitch.

There are a number of players who are big, tall and strong, and they are all capable of dominating the opposition without any trouble.

Kalvin Phillips appears to be a big fan of one such Arsenal player.

Kalvin Phillips shares what happened when he trained with Arsenal star Declan Rice for the first time

Declan Rice is one of Arsenal and England’s best players.

The Englishman was already among the top midfielders in the country when he was at West Ham United, but since he moved to the Emirates, he has gone up a level.

Many people only saw Rice as a defensive midfielder who is good at protecting the back four. But, the 25-year-old has been outstanding in a box-to-box role as well.

Phillips knows Rice really well. The two midfielders shared a great partnership for England a few years ago, but the Manchester City man has now admitted that he was ‘gobsmacked’ when he saw the Arsenal star for the very first time.

That’s because Rice is such an athlete, he’s so quick, tall and strong and did things on the pitch that Phillips just didn’t think he was capable of.

He said on Sky Sports: “Declan, my boy, I love him! Dec’s unbelievable.

“Obviously, when I first trained with him at England, I could tell that he was the player he was going to go (on and become). You could tell. He’s just an athlete.

“I didn’t expect him to be so tall and so strong. When I got there, I was just gobsmacked at how well he was with the ball, how quickly he covered the ground and how much ground he covered.

“And obviously, I love Declan as well.”

Declan Rice’s Arsenal role could change after the international break

Rice is one of the first names on Arsenal’s team sheet every week.

The Englishman is such an integral part of Arteta’s side at the Emirates, and his presence in all phases of play is extremely important.

Rice has played almost all of this season as a left-sided number-eight, but we think his role will be changed after the ongoing international break.

Mikel Merino is fully fit now, and even though Thomas Partey has done a good job so far this season, the Spaniard is expected to come into the side.

That would mean that the Ghanaian will be dropped to the bench and Rice will be deployed as a number six, which is a role he definitely enjoys.