Jason Cundy makes Declan Rice handbrake claim ahead of West Ham United exit to Arsenal
TalkSPORT’s Jason Cundy has claimed that soon-to-be Arsenal player Declan Rice’ could be afforded the chance to add goals to his, stating that the £105million man still has the potential to further improve his game.
In response to a talkSPORT caller, Cundy claimed that Rice could occupy a position slightly further up the pitch than he played for West Ham which would allow him to improve his goal tally and unshackle him from his predominantly defensive duties.
It was also suggested that in this more advanced position, Rice would also be able to influence the attacking build-up by advancing further up the pitch to link up with Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli to operate as a playmaker.
Speaking on talkSPORT (June 28), Cundy also said: “There are goals in him. Declan played with a little bit of a handbrake at West Ham.
“This player can improve even more. We’ve nowhere near seen the finished article of Rice yet.”
Declan Rice is set to complete his move to north London soon [Fabrizio Romano] for a record fee for a British player where he will join the recently announced Kai Havertz at the Emirates.
Paying for the potential
Still at the young age of 24, Rice still has plenty of time to improve and adapt his game, and with his £105million price tag Arsenal will expect him to continue his development.
Cundy claims that Rice has more goals in him, and as captain of West Ham Rice has slowly been improving his goal-scoring form.
Last season the skipper equalled his highest return with five goals including an incredible display of pace and power in the Europa Conference League quarterfinal in April against Gent.
His current goal-scoring rate is nothing to be dismissed for his position, averaging 0.11 goals per 90 putting him in the 68th percentile [FBRef], but Cundy believes he has the attributes to improve this metric even further.
Playing in a stronger side like Arsenal should give Rice the platform to make more forward runs than he had a license to at West Ham. The switch to Arteta’s side may release Rice from the “handbrake” of the defensive midfielder role.
He may play a similar role to Granit Xhaka, whose total nine-goal haul last season was over double his best scoring season for Arsenal. If Rice is afforded the same freedom as the Swiss international then it would be no shock to see the Englishman hit double figures next season.
Cundy’s talkSPORT colleague Gabby Agbonlahor took this one step further last week (23 June) when he claimed that under Pep Guardiola, Rice could score up to 20 goals a season.
Many back Rice to improve his game next season. With such a large fee for the player, Arsenal are not just playing for what Rice is now, but also for what he can become.
With the handbrake off he may well become an even more formidable presence in the Premier League.
In other West Ham news, key Hammers shot-stopper emerges as target for European finalists.