Wayne Rooney has delivered his verdict on Arsenal summer signing Viktor Gyokeres and heaped praise on ‘absolutely incredible’ Declan Rice.
Arsenal ensured they will sit top of the Premier League on Christmas Day with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
Rooney attended the game as a guest of Everton and was blown away by Rice’s performance, describing him as ‘incredible’ and ‘the best player on the pitch’.
Rice has made a huge impact at the Emirates Stadium since his £105m move from West Ham in 2023, establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Rooney believes Rice is even slightly ‘underrated’ given a lot of his contributions go unnoticed and says it was a ‘pleasure’ to watch the 26-year-old in the flesh.
The Manchester United legend also hailed Rice as a ‘future England captain’ and says he is ‘irreplaceable’ to Thomas Tuchel ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
‘I have to say Declan Rice is incredible, it was a pleasure to watch,’ Rooney said on his BBC podcast. ‘He was by far the best player on the pitch.
‘For me, he’s the future caption of England. He’s the one who’s probably waiting for Harry to hang up his boots at some point.
‘He was all over the pitch [against Everton]. His decision-making – when to pass it, where to pass it, what foot to pass it to, his detail on his pass – it was a pleasure to watch. He was absolutely incredible.
‘He was splitting centre-backs, taking the ball off [Arsenal’s] centre-backs, acting as a third centre-back, then next minute he’s in the box, trying to score a goal. Sometimes, some of the stuff he does is a bit underrated.
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‘He’s the right one to take over [Kane] for me, because [of] his drive, his personality. Everyone seems to love him, who knows him, who’s close to him. He’s irreplaceable for England.’
While Rice helped Arsenal maintain their status as Premier League leaders against Everton, it was £64m summer signing Gyokeres who scored the winner from the penalty spot.
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Gyokeres has endured a slightly underwhelming start to his Arsenal career, scoring seven goals in 20 appearances after netting 97 in 102 for Sporting.
But legendary striker Rooney believes Gyokeres is still a key member of Mikel Arteta’s team and can have a ‘big role’ in Arsenal’s title charge.
‘He does a bit more than what you see,’ Rooney said of the former United transfer target. ‘Even on Saturday, he occupies the two centre-backs, James Tarkowski and Michael Keane.
‘That creates a bit more space for your number 10 or your wide players who are coming inside.
‘I think he’s important for Arsenal. He’s doing a job which helps other players, he just hasn’t got the goals which you’d expect from him.
‘You maybe don’t see it, it’s not eye-catching, but he does occupy the centre-back. Can he be better? Of course he can. Should he score more goals playing in that team? Yeah, he should.
‘But I think if Arsenal go on to win the league, then he’ll have had a big role to play, definitely.’
Arsenal put their Premier League title tilt on hold tomorrow night when they face Crystal Palace for a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
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