Richard Keys has now revised his assessment of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.
Declan Rice produced an incredible performance as Arsenal thrashed his former club West Ham United 6-0 at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal fans were blown away by Rice as he came back to haunt his former club. The 25-year-old racked up two assists in the match with his inch-perfect set-pieces deliveries, as William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were both able to connect with his crosses and score.
Then, with his final action in the match, Rice rounded-off the scoring with a long-range effort into the top corner. Whilst the England man did not really celebrate his strike against the Hammers, out of respect for his former club, his goal was enough to complete their humiliation, as Arsenal recorded their biggest ever Premier League away win.
Richard Keys was certainly impressed by what he saw from Rice upon his return to east London, having previously been critical of the midfielder. The TV presenter previously described Rice as “Declan Nice” and accused him of having lost his edge since making the switch to the Emirates Stadium. Writing on his personal blog, Keys felt that Rice’s talents were being wasted at Arsenal whilst he was under Mikel Arteta’s instruction.
Richard Keys makes U-turn on Declan Rice
Now, though, he appears to have changed his tune. Again writing on his own website, in the wake of Arsenal’s win at West Ham, Keys said, “class, Dec. Real class. Of course, I’m referring to the ‘celebration’ after Rice smashed Arsenal’s sixth against West Ham.”
“I thought Rice had a thunderous impact on the game. He looked every inch the player that left West Ham and used to play like it every week in their colours. Perhaps it was because he was back on familiar territory, but Rice cajoled, hit probing passes and to some degree ran the game, in a way I haven’t seen him do often enough in an Arsenal jersey.”
“His goal topped it all off. He did everything I said he should be doing when I wrote about him being Declan Nice recently. And the celebration police were quite happy with what followed his goal. He was muted. Respectful. And classy.”
Few Arsenal fans would have sided with Keys on the points that he made about Rice prior to this Sunday’s encounter. In fact, the 48-cap England international has been a revelation for the north London club ever since his arrival in the recent summer transfer window. His physicality, running power, and defensive awareness in the middle of the park has helped Arteta’s side to dominate so many matches.
What’s more, he has also made a profound impression off the pitch at Arsenal, with Arteta even tipping Rice as a potential future Arsenal captain.
Arsenal will be delighted with the performances Rice has produced so far this season. It is now just vital that he able to stay fit and available throughout the remaining months of the campaign.
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