Arsenal’s midfield talisman Declan Rice has sprung in support of new signing Noni Madueke from Chelsea. The winger’s acquisition for £48.5m had triggered a massive backlash from #NoToMadueke has gained traction on X, and murals outside the club’s Emirates Stadium have been vandalised with ‘Arteta out’.
But Rice is defiantly behind his new teammate, as Arsenal seek to end their prolonged drought for an EPL title, which they last won two decades ago as well as bring their first ever Champions League silverware. “He’s going to shock a lot of people and I can’t wait for him to come,” said Rice, who is also his England teammate.
He added: “I know how driven he is. I’ve spoken to him and you’re going to see what he’s about this season. He wants to prove and show everyone what he really can do. He’s hungry, he wants to play for Arsenal and that’s the type of players we want. It’s so positive. People have been speaking internally – the players, the staff. We know the player that we’re getting and we’re really looking forward to having him at our club. It’s going to be really exciting.”
Pacy and nimble, though wasteful in front of goals during his Chelsea days, he has 20 goals from 92 appearances for the Blues and has already played for England. His trickery to get past the defenders is seen as a big asset. “When you’re an attacking player and in your mind the first thought you have is to go past your defender, that’s an unbelievable trait to have,” Rice said about Madueke’s ability,” he observed.
He is among the finest dribblers in the league too. As much as 33 per cent of his total carries were progressive, bettered only by Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku. “He’s going to bring that to the squad along with the other wingers we have. Let’s be real – last year we hardly had any depth in any areas. We played half the season pretty much with so many injuries, so to now be able to rotate and push in different competitions with different players is going to be really, really good. That’s key for us,” he said.
While he is seen as a cover for Bukayo Saka, he brings another dimension and offers Mikel Arteta tactical flexibility. He could be employed as a touchline winger, drifting wide and crossing into the box from the left, like conventional wingers used to. He could also be deployed on both flanks as he is good with both feet. Last season, even when playing largely on the right, 34.2 per cent of his shots came from the right foot, his weaker one.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
