Pundit Rio Ferdinand has praised Declan Rice having noticed that nobody is talking about the Arsenal midfielder’s price tag anymore.
Declan Rice has brought ‘steel and security’ to the Arsenal team after his big-money move from West Ham United.
That is according to Rio Ferdinand, who has been speaking on FIVE as he reviewed the weekend Premier League action.
Arsenal enjoyed a fine win on Sunday afternoon, heading away to Everton and coming back with all three points.
Goodison Park hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Arsenal in recent years, famously losing 1-0 in Sean Dyche’s first game as Everton boss last season.
There was no repeat this time though as Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game, finishing off a sweeping Arsenal move to seal a 1-0 victory.
Rio Ferdinand praises Declan Rice
Arsenal continue to impress this season as they look to go one better in their pursuit of the Premier League title.
The big addition over the summer was Declan Rice with Arsenal splashing the cash on the England international.
Rice has made a huge impact for Arsenal either as a box-to-box player or sitting in front of the back four.
Rice’s ability to play both roles to such a high level is a huge reason why Arsenal paid up to sign him – and Ferdinand has a theory about the price tag.
Ferdinand believes that people have stopped talking about how much Rice cost because he has been performing so well for Arsenal.
The ex-Manchester United ace thinks that the price tag was such a talking point over the summer but it has faded away now because Rice is proving that he is worth the money.
Ferdinand even suggests that he is forgetting about the eye test with Rice, he simply knows how well he is playing based on the lack of discussion about his price tag.
“There was a lot said about Declan Rice, by the way, and his transfer and the price of it, at the beginning of the season. There’s very much less said about it right now, which tells you this guy is performing at a very good level, operating at a high level,” said Ferdinand.
“That’s testament to him because, when you go for a big fee, that’s all that’s mentioned when it’s not going well or when you’re mediocre, but when you’re playing well, people don’t even mention it, so I’m gauging his performances based just off of that alone – forget the eye test, people are not chatting about £100million now, so he’s kind of fitted in like a glove and he’s added a bit more steel and security and calmness to that team,” he added.
Ferdinand may be onto something amid Kai Havertz struggles
Ferdinand’s theory may have some weight behind it when we look at Kai Havertz.
Arsenal paid a fairly hefty fee for the German this summer but he has yet to prove his worth.
So much of the talk around Havertz is that he is a waste of money and Arsenal overpaid for him having failed to hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium.
Nobody seems to talk about Rice’s price tag anymore and have moved onto Havertz, with price tags usually brought up if a player is struggling rather than if they are impressing.
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