Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs West Ham United: 5 things we learned – Worst performance of the season

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Declan Rice of West Ham United celebrates scoring the winning goal with team mates during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Declan Rice of West Ham United celebrates scoring the winning goal with team mates during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Declan Rice of West Ham United celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Declan Rice of West Ham United celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

4. Declan Rice exposes Granit Xhaka

Declan Rice was the best player on the pitch. And it wasn’t really very close. Even if he hadn’t scored, I still would have considered him the best player on the pitch. It was his work in midfield, especially defensively, that was so impressive, not his goalscoring touch.

Covering the ground like rangy centre-half, with great positional astuteness and anticipation, he played with a clear defensive nous — it was evident that he grew up as a central defender, not a midfielder. Contrast that to Granit Xhaka, who probably doesn’t know how to spell ‘danger’.

Xhaka was completely and utterly exposed by Rice. Rice was better tackling, he read the game better, he moved the ball quicker and with more intesity and progression, he was the cornerstone of the West Ham, while Xhaka seemed happy to pass on responsibility. Xhaka was signed to be a world-class central midfielder. He’s now being outplayed by a 19-year-old kid.