Sporting CP manager left really surprised by what Declan Rice did during 5-1 Arsenal win

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Arsenal humiliated Sporting CP in their own backyard with a 5-1 win in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta and everyone else were expecting a difficult game in Lisbon. The Gunners were well prepared and went in with a game plan, and they executed it perfectly.

Sporting had no answers in the first half. It was all Arsenal and they deservedly picked up a 5-1 victory, equalling a 21-year club record.

Declan Rice returned to the starting lineup and he had a solid game.

Sporting manager Joao Pereira surprised by Arsenal star Declan Rice’s role

Rice is up there with the best defensive midfielders in the world, but he has mostly played as a number eight for Arsenal.

The Englishman started in the same role against Sporting on Tuesday night, with Thomas Partey sitting deep and Martin Odegaard playing in his usual position.

Most of Arsenal’s attacks, as they usually do, came from the right. Bukayo Saka was constantly involved, as were Odegaard and Jurrien Timber on that side of the pitch.

Joao Pereira has now revealed that he actually expected Rice to play a more advanced role and stay high up the pitch – similar to what Odegaard did.

The Sporting boss’ game plan perhaps revolved around that, but to his surprise, Rice dropped deep on multiple occasions, and that confused the hosts.

When asked by a journalist why it felt like Arsenal had an extra man on the pitch, Pereira said, as per Mais Futebol: “Yes, we were expecting Declan Rice to play higher, but he started to back off a lot.”

Declan Rice’s stats vs Sporting CP

Rice has been struggling with a broken toe over the last few weeks.

The Englishman suffered that injury in the defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League. He missed the game against Inter Milan as a result and even had to pull out of England duty.

After getting another break against Nottingham Forest, Rice started against Sporting CP. He had a very good game in the middle of the park.

In his 70 minutes on the pitch, Rice had 37 touches of the ball and completed 27 of his 30 passes, maintaining an excellent 90 per cent passing accuracy.

He also maintained a 100 per cent success rate in duels and dribbles, which is very impressive (Sofascore).