No - one in their wildest dreams thought he was gonna to be this good.
I really, really wish we had Rice as Vieria’s replacement back in the day.
Declan "Deccers" Rice
Rice rice baby
He's great at what he's great at but again putting him at the pivot means we do not move the ball forward quickly and crisply enough.
We still badly miss Partey there and our football won't be fluid again until he's back or we sign someone who can fill the role.
Let Rice be the Xhaka upgrade he's made for.
Sicario2 - Tier 1 you just had to see him for England to get an idea of his abilities, covers so much ground and as technically sound as you can get and also has a top attitude.
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Gunner89 I've been amusing myself with a Scott Parker comparison after that non-goal a week ago. Dared not say anything until now 
World class. Monster.
I always knew he was good at ball-winning and covering the pitch but his ball retention is something else. He can definitely play more adventurously passing wise but I think he's told to be more conservative.
Gunner89 yep he’s very capable of it. Also able to surge in to the box and finish. He’s playing how Arteta wants him to.
Top tier player.
Qwiss Yeah I like him at both 6 and 8. He is a defensive machine but not a controller 6 and hardly plays passes through lines. Personally think we should buy a 6 to replace Jorginho and a proper box to box 8 to replace Partey. Rice continues to play both positions depending on opposition.
Havertz can stay as reliable versatile rotation and then keep 1 of Vieira and Smith-Rowe.
I love how you spend other people's money
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him and wilo are looking like early POTY contenders. they have the 90s/2000s ruggedness I've been pining for
He's very good , and the fee was ridiculous. Glad he's playing for us and not City though.
What we need is another midfielder on that level
7 days later
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Drops 9 out of 10s each week. Midfield royalty
Start adding those round the corner, between the lines Partey stabs, then wow.
The Octopus
Pepe LeFrits wasn't that Partey's nickname already? Need a different beast...the squid? Not sure he'd appreciate being likened to calamari, though...
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Don’t need or want Declan to change in any way. He’s part of that wall of power defence sitting in front of the four trees that gives the attacking players a platform to go about their business on.
Feels like. “Oopsy daisy attack, you’ve uncharacteristically lost possession. Here let us just win that ball and get it back to you so you can have another go at attacking them. ‘E are!”
He's gargantuan. Had him mixed up with Havertz for a few minutes yesterday, with the nett effect being to think "whoa Havertz is looking huge and really working his butt off today"
It felt like he won the ball back so many times either through a tackle or interception. Crazy. He also hardly ever makes fouls. He was shooting off target with the laces yesterday think his side foot shooting is better.
