Patrick Vieira explains which Arsenal star is ‘one of his favourite players’ in the Premier League

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Patrick Vieira was one of the greatest players in Arsenal’s history, and arguably the best central midfielder to ever wear the red and white shirt.

The Frenchman brought a world-class combination of brute strength and technical excellence as a box-to-box midfielder, and was the last captain to win a Premier League title at Arsenal.

Vieira went into management after he retired from football, but had less success as a coach than he did as a player. Nevertheless, he still knows what it takes to be a title-winning midfielder in North London.

The World Cup winner has now highlighted one of Arsenal’s current midfielders, and claimed that he is one of his favourite players in the Premier League, with Mikel Arteta’s side aiming to win the Premier League title.

• READ MORE: A timeline of every Arsenal captain during the Premier League era from Tony Adams to Martin Odegaard

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira praises Declan Rice

Speaking to Arsenal club media, Vieira highlighted the brilliant qualities of midfielder Declan Rice, who joined last summer for a club-record fee.

“I like him because he is a team player, and I think when you play in that position you have to be the one who sacrifices yourself for the team,” Vieira stated of Rice.

“You have to win the ball, and you have to give it to the players who can make the difference, and it is a really difficult position, because you work hard for the team but you may not get a lot of credit like the guys who score those goals.

“When you’re looking at the Arsenal from last year, and I hope this year again, he will be an important key for the team, because he will do all the dirty work, who will make the other ones look good, and to allow the ones to make a difference in the last thirty yards.

“He is one of my favourite players in the Premier League, because he sacrifices himself, he works hard for the team, and he is a team player.”

Declan Rice can emulate what Patrick Vieira brought to Arsenal

For years, the biggest criticism of Arsenal was that they had not replaced Vieira’s influence in the middle of the park.

Vieira was a vocal leader, a robust tackler and also chipped in with important goals, and Rice is perhaps the closest player Arsenal have had to him.

Although initially deployed as a defensive midfielder, Rice pushed further forward in the second half of last season, and found himself amongst the goals and assists.

If Arsenal do win the Premier League this season, Rice’s influence in midfield will have played a huge part, in a similar way to how Vieira helped Arsene Wenger become so successful in the past.