Declan Rice elevated himself into the pantheon of Arsenal greats by scoring two outstanding free-kicks against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates, courtesy of this brace from Rice and a smart finish from Mikel Merino.
The Englishman stunningly whipped the ball around Los Blancos’ wall and past Thibaut Courtois for the first, before immaculately placing the ball into the top corner for the second just 12 minutes later.
The goals took Rice’s tally for the season to seven, matching the number of strikes he managed in his debut campaign in North London.
Roy Keane says Declan Rice is still considerably behind Kevin De Bruyne
Rice was exceptional against Real Madrid, with the two free-kicks capping off what has been an excellent run of form from the midfielder since the turn of the year.
Ostensibly a defensive midfielder, Mikel Arteta has generally favoured using Rice in a more advanced role, and this is beginning to bare fruit.
With his background being deeper on the pitch, the former West Ham man has occasionally struggled to make an impact in the final third.
However, he’s starting to add more offensive strings to his bow, which could certainly see him push himself into the upper echelon of Premier League midfielders in history.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Roy Keane claimed that Rice needs to add more goals to his game to be up there with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Steven Gerrard.
“What will help any midfield player, we were chatting the other day about De Bruyne, [Steven] Gerrard,” Keane said.
“If Rice can just add, and if he’s playing higher up the pitch and start getting more goals, brilliant player, he will be going to another level.
“He will be up there when discussing the great players. As I said, he has it in his locker, he has a great technique.”
Declan Rice shouldn’t be compared to Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is arguably the best creative midfielder in Premier League history, with his range of passing, ability to drive through lines of pressure and crossing ability all extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Rice has predominantly been used to carry out defensive actions and be heavily involved in the deeper build-up.
The Arsenal man is never going to replicate De Bruyne’s output in the final third, and he shouldn’t ultimately be judged on whether he can do this.
More apt comparisons are the likes of Keane himself, as well as Patrick Vieira.
Having said that, if Rice can keep adding more layers to his game, then there’s no reason why he can’t develop into a final-third specialist, and earn comparisons to the likes of De Bruyne, Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
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