He wanted to stay in London for his family. If he didn't have issues with Chelsea, i'm sure he'd have signed for them if Arsenal didn't pay. As big as you are, some criterias are out of your control.
Declan Rice
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
If United stood any chance of getting him, it would of been when they got Casemiro, not this summer, zero chance. His heart and head was clearly set on Arsenal, for a fair few reasons too.
Yes it seems Rice really wanted to work with Arteta. He felt he’d be the best manager to progress his career. In interviews he’s done since he moved, he spouts Arteta as the main reason he favoured the move.
We blew our budget on Casemiro and overpaying on shit players like Antony, therefor had to resort to loaning a midfielder from Fiorentina. If we had the money and the sense that Casemiro was on a decline we would have been in for Rice, then London and Arteta would have been irrelevant.
I’ll flip the ‘What If’s’ on its head. What if we had managed to sign Martinez instead of Zinchenko that summer? How much better defensively would we have been?
Zinny just doesnt work some games and against a Salah it is very bad choice, but then again we don't have a whole lot of options right now. I wonder if Zinny would have played if Tomi was available. Zinny otherwise does a fairly good job inverting and helping out Rice.
I think we are fine defensively myself. Just need to keep what we have and keep plugging away. A steady reliable backline is always your foundation of your long term success imo.
I think we are fine defensively myself. Just need to keep what we have and keep plugging away. A steady reliable backline is always your foundation of your long term success imo.
If you offered me Rice/Elanga over Antony/Casemiro right now, I'd snap your hand off. This time last year, I'd lean the other way. That's football - I just hope we start getting these decisions right with new football people in charge.
Yes Zinchenko is a necessary addition to this Arsenal team.
Like Jorginho he gives Arsenal a creative option from deeper, supporting Odegaard’s freedom to roam more in midfield (dropping and advancing) and allowing Rice the freedom to do what he does best (screening the backline and using his timing and interception to advance play).
Also, Zinchenko will be important for the majority league games played where the opposition sit back but do not have enough quality to hurt consistently you in transition. Teams need to be given an incentive to take risks and attack Arsenal and he can be seen as that incentive.
For the bigger games, you have Tomiyasu and Timber in that role to provide both the defensive organisation and inverting option as well.
On the main topic of Rice, I don’t think he goes anywhere else but Arsenal, no matter who is in the race. I keep seeing some Liverpool and some United fans saying had they had the cash they would have got him, and I think that’s nonsense.
Rice was always going to Arsenal, end of story. Best bet is factoring in London as the reason.
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One thing I have noticed watching him is he needs to do an awful lot more than most players to get a booking. Having a player in your midfield who’s given free rein to foul is always an advantage.
Is this...fachts?
I think I’d have taken the Rice deal, I rated him highly and Antony I never thought he is worth it.
Rice wanted Chelsea. It fell to pieces because they did.
That’s the standard referee/English player darling bias. Happened with Terry, Gerrard, Kane, Saka etc.
Did they get more of a free pass to foul with impunity that than the Brazilian midfielders we’ve had in this league? Lucas Leiva, Ramires, Fernandinho, Fabinho etc.
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I'm not to bothered about spending 70m of casemiro, he was a big player for us last season and I think he will be this season too (when he returns).
What's more annoying is that we go rid of Elanga and got a direct replacement in Antony for 80m, arguably a worse player actually. That money could've been used for Rice.
What's more annoying is that we go rid of Elanga and got a direct replacement in Antony for 80m, arguably a worse player actually. That money could've been used for Rice.
Jesus, check your numbers before posting inane nonsense. He's 120+ on the list when it comes to fouls committed with 14, fecking 14 fouls.
yeah I’d say so. Those players you mentioned deffo got away with a lot but deffo not more than Terry, Gerrard, Kane and going further back Shearer.
Erm isn’t that sort of the point…
The point was yellow cards. He has 2, so one every 7 fouls which is pretty par for the course unless you're a really bad tackler.
Rice's isn't 'getting away' with anything, he's just a terrific reader of the game so doesn't have to tackle as much, and hence doesn't get carded as much. Can't believe this has to be spelt out.
I have this gut feeling that Rice will see out his contract at Arsenal and come home to where he belongs when he’s bang in the middle of his prime.
Doubt the Championship would be too much of a lure tbh.
Low hanging fruit that. You can do better. Relegation jokes are so last year
Is he playing tonight?
Honestly I'm just shocked kids like Mount and him grew up supporting Chelsea. They seem way too nice.Low hanging fruit that. You can do better. Relegation jokes are so last year
He's doing his job and doing it efficiently as usual.
Problem is in a game like this his job isn't really enough. Or not needed so much.
2 down trying to break a lesser team down and he's not really involved in that effort.
This is why you don't spend £100 million on this kind of DM. You spend that on a goalscorer.
I will not be gaslit into being convinced he will ever be worth 105 million british pounds.
The only people convinced of that are on heavy doses of class A, Bs and Cs
Nah. A player like him is imperative for the best clubs. He's the type who helps you dominate every game, cuts out opposition counters more often, pushes you higher up the pitch and the opposition further back as a result. Take him out and Arsenal are much more open and west Ham are having a lot more of the game than just 26% possession and a handful of shots in the game.
Nobody is. But of those that have went for those sort of numbers, he is far closer to being worth it than pretty much anybody else bar Mbappe
Even tried to credit him for Trent hitting the bar the other day, that's how desperate it's become.
I dont think he's making any difference to West Ham's possession. Arsenal are just on top as a team in that respect.
Agree he's an important player, just not £100 million important.
In this situation tonight he's basically watching his teammates try and get his team back in the game. He can't affect West Ham's box.
In what way is he closer to being worth it? Kane is the only player I think you could say has been worth his massive transfer fee. He's been lauded as this pivotal player who's had as much impact as Partey, so far.
is equivalent to
What a player Tony V. Surely worth 200m for that effort alone.
is equivalent to
He's 100m because he's a player who is always fit, only 24, and will be around the best in the world in his role for the next 5 years, so he'll play every game in a very hard role. If there's any 100m well spent, it's on someone like that. Spending big on old players is dumb, spending big on injury prone players is dumb, spending big on players who aren't capable of being one of the best around in their roles is dumb, spending big on replaceable players is dumb. Rice isn't a replaceable player at all, same with Rodri at City. it's very hard to get guys like that.
Agent Rice
Doing one for his team
But Rodri didn't cost £100 million and he's better. Thomas Partey could come in now and replace him.
His passing tonight has been so basic. You need more than that from a £100 million pound midfielder when you're two down at home and looking to win a title. What he's done tonight isn't enough.
Kane is 30. You need more than short term success to be worth it at that price. Kane is only successful if they win the CL. Otherwise they can replace him with whoever and they'll still win the Bundesliga every year by default basically (also with Kane now they aren't even top...).
Rice has given Arsenal a lot more dominance in games than Partey, come on. They're actually excellent defensively (generally speaking). A big part of that is rice being in there to give them more control.