Ashley Young has lauded one Arsenal player after the Gunners’ victory over Everton on the final day of the Premier League season, insisting that he has been ‘fantastic’ for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal made another big step in the right direction this season, coming agonisingly close to winning the Premier League title and also reaching the knockout stages in the Champions League.
Ultimately, they were not able to get across the line in either competition, but Arteta will have real belief that they are not too far away at all.
Of course, a key moment in Arsenal’s development as a team was the club-record move for Declan Rice, with the midfielder signing from West Ham last summer.
Ashley Young lauds Declan Rice after Arsenal win over Everton
Some have suggested that Rice was the key reason Arsenal were able to get even closer to Manchester City this season.
And speaking to talkSPORT (broadcast on 21/5; 17:33), Ashley Young – whose poor pass led to Arsenal’s final day winner against Sean Dyche’s side – has lauded the impact Rice has made at the Emirates.
“(I rate him) Very highly. Like you said, I think a lot was talked about the price-tag, I think nowadays that is the standard that the prices have been hyped up,” he said.
“I think he has delivered for Arsenal, I think the first couple of games, people were sceptical, what’s he going to do, what’s he going to produce, but especially in the turn of this year, he has been fantastic for Arsenal.”
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Young alluded to some having their concerns about the 25-year-old, and it seems that his own teammates had their doubts about how quickly he would adapt at the Emirates.
Plenty of players tend to struggle with the expectations which come with a big-money move, and Rice became one of the most expensive players of all-time with his switch last year.
But he has shown absolutely no signs of being uncomfortable with the price-tag and quickly established himself as the fulcrum of this Arsenal side.
