Danny Murphy has now shared his belief that one Arsenal player will soon start scoring a lot more goals in the near future.
Before the turn of the new year, there was a lot of talk about Mikel Arteta’s side struggling to finish their chances.
Gabriel Jesus was injured at the time and Eddie Nketiah was failing to live up to the standards he’s shown on occasion.
Of course, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz both then began to dovetail in the false nine role, and the situation improved considerably.
Arsenal were then able to mount a serious title challenge as a result, and haven’t really looked back since.
That being said, Arteta still relies upon sourcing goals from every area of his team, rather than having just one out-and-out scorer.
And when analysing Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night, Danny Murphy was convinced that Declan Rice could soon start adding to Arsenal’s scoring on a more consistent basis.
Danny Murphy confident Declan Rice will start scoring way more goals for Arsenal
Murphy was analysing the game on the BBC’s Match of the Day and thought Arsenal had become a better team since Rice had started playing a more offensive role.
The pundit hailed Rice’s pressing and said that he could soon hit double figures playing in this position.
Murphy explained: “We know what he can do defensively but so often when he gets the scent he’s in there.
“He had the opportunity with some better passing to score more. Fernandez and Caicedo couldn’t cope with him, they couldn’t get near him.
“When you free him up to go and press higher that makes Arsenal a better team for me because he’s one of the best in the Premier League at closing people down, when freed from that holding role.
“I think if he plays in this role more often, which I think he will as his Arsenal career progresses, I think we will start seeing him hit double figures.
“I think it’s a certainty because he’s got all the qualities to start scoring more goals.
Arsenal definitely need to sign a new number six this summer
Of course, whether it’s Jorginho or Thomas Partey playing alongside him, the England international has flourished as an eight.
That’s not to say that Arsenal won’t still need Rice in the pivot, but Murphy is right to recognise the benefits of the midfielder in a more attacking role.
Perhaps Arteta will now focus a large proportion of the club’s summer spending on another number six who can also give Arsenal this freedom to be flexible with Rice.
While Partey and Jorginho are excellent options for now, they perhaps don’t represent a long-term fix.
And Arsenal fans know that Partey simply can’t be relied upon over a 38-game season owing to his injuries.
That being said, TBR football can exclusively confirm that one Arsenal player has already been told they can leave this summer.
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