Declan Rice No Longer 'Crucial' piece of Arsenal's puzzle?

Former Arsenal great Alan Smith has caused quite a stir, stating that Declan Rice isn't a crucial player for the Gunners to have success.

When Arsenal signed Declan Rice last summer, that was the move that had given the Gunners the type of midfielder they had been craving since Patrick Vieira left.

A crucial part of the Arsenal set up last season, Rice made his presence felt as Mikel Arteta's side again fell short in the league title race to Manchester City.

But the resurgence of Thomas Partey this season has been superb, with the "Rolls Royce" of the Gunners midfield look to be back to his best (cross fingers and toes he doesn't get injured), and that leaves less pressure on Rice to be world-class.

As such, former Arsenal great Alan Smith says that while Rice is still an important cog in the Gunners machine, he isn't the key centerpiece other players are.

“If I were to pick five players I deem essential to that Arsenal starting XI, I’d have to start with David Raya because he’s really been playing well and his ability with the ball at his feet is great," Smith said. “I’d then choose both William Saliba and Gabriel, they’re really important in that centre-half position although Saliba more so than Gabriel as Jurrien Timber has been getting some game time there. My final two would be Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. Yes, Rice is important, but he was out at the weekend and they still won well so that’s encouraging."

Is Smith right?

Part of the knock on Rice is that he isn't progressive enough with his passes and considering his passing range, that is quite odd. This is where Partey shines, and that is what made him such a key piece of Arteta's midfield.

At his peak, it didn't matter what kind of pressure Partey was under, he would use his physicality to turn away from defenders and play a long ball to release a teammate or he had the ability to wriggle away from a challenge and play a delightful ball to set an attack in motion. Plus, he has a knack for the "high IQ" pass as well.

This was evidenced by his lovely dink to Bukayo Saka in Arsenal's 5-1 win over Sporting CP that helped set up Kai Havertz's goal and the Gunners' second.

But there is still a sense of when, not if, Partey will break down as he has had his injury troubles, whereas Rice has been a staple of the midfield since arriving from West Ham in the summer of last year.

Is Rice really not in the top three or four most crucial Arsenal players? That my friends, is a hot conversation starter.

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