David Moyes has now admitted that Declan Rice made a change that actually hindered West Ham United before he moved to Arsenal.
Right now, Rice will be purely thinking about England’s attempts to win Euro 2024, but he has just completed a remarkable club season.
Given the levels Rice demonstrated as West Ham captain, there were very few that thought he’d fail to make the step up to Arsenal, but perhaps his instantaneous success was still a surprise.
Rice took almost no time to adapt, a testament to the excellent foundations both Moyes and West Ham provided him.
Moyes certainly deserves credit for the player Rice has become today – hoping to lead England to a trophy alongside the likes of Jarrod Bowen, who delivered a stellar cameo against Serbia.
That being said, when speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast recently, Moyes has actually admitted that Rice’s ambition was slightly hindering West Ham in one respect before he left.
David Moyes says Arsenal man Declan Rice wanted to score goals at West Ham
Speaking on the podcast, Moyes said that Rice was aware of criticism that he didn’t score enough goals in his second year and wanted to prove himself.
And whilst detailing the effect that had on Tomas Soucek’s game, Moyes also suggested that he thought Rice was better off playing as a six at Arsenal.
He explained: “Declan was such a great lad to have and could cover the ground in his recovery speed, his ability. But I have to say, and I’ve said it, he has improved in a lot of ways.
“He wanted to get forward more in the second year. The first year together when we had Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, Tomas was the one making the box and scoring the goals.
“Declan was sitting. I think Declan felt, and there was a lot getting said, Declan Rice is not going to be that good if he can’t score a goal, if he can’t really get forward.
“And I think Declan got a wee bit hurt by that as well. And actually, it didn’t help the balance as well with the team, because Tomas ended up having to sit a little bit more and he wasn’t as good at what Declan could do.
“And Declan at the time wasn’t scoring quite enough, he was getting a few, but I think he wanted to prove to everybody how good he could be at the other side as well.
“I think he’s better as a six.”
Mikel Arteta won’t change his Declan Rice plan
Of course, last season at Arsenal after leaving West Ham, Rice predominantly played as a number eight, producing the best attacking numbers of his career.
Rice scored seven goals and assisted 10, demonstrating the ability that Moyes once thought he wanted to prove.
And whilst he was impressive in the position under Arteta, many will still feel as if Rice is best as number six in the pivot.
Gareth Southgate is certainly reluctant to remove the England international from the position, where he is one of the best in the world.
But Arteta is strong in his convictions, and will likely double-down on his choice by buying a six this summer.
That being said, one midfielder linked with a move to Arsenal has now claimed that Man City’s Rodri is actually better than Rice.