Tom Cairney has admitted that he was incredibly surprised by what he saw Declan Rice do as Arsenal thrashed West Ham United 6-0 at the London Stadium.
The Gunners made a huge statement with their victory over the Hammers on Sunday. Mikel Arteta’s men were under pressure after both Manchester City and Liverpool had won the previous day.
But Arsenal were ruthless against the Irons. They were 4-0 up at half-time before Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice put the icing on the cake during the second-half.
Tom Cairney surprised to see Declan Rice take set-pieces for Arsenal
Rice certainly played a crucial role against his former club. As well as scoring the goal of the game, the 24-year-old provided two assists – both of which saw one of the Gunners’ centre-backs find the back of the net.
Firstly, William Saliba was able to head home from Rice’s corner. And that was followed by Gabriel Magalhaes scoring from the midfielder’s free-kick.
And speaking on The Footballer’s Football Podcast, Tom Cairney admitted his shock at seeing Rice prove to be so dangerous from dead-ball situations.
“I was more surprised at Declan Rice on set pieces? What is going on! He was whipping them in like David Bentley. He’s 6ft 3,” he said.
Midfielder becoming more and more important for the Gunners
Rice has actually had an outstanding season in front of goal. He has now scored four goals and provided four assists for the Gunners in the Premier League.
And actually, his strike against West Ham was, by far, the least important of the lot.
Of course, his late strike against Manchester United seemed to be the first time for Arsenal where he proved that he was going to be able to step up in the big moments.
The comeback at Chelsea would not have happened without him. And it was Rice who headed home the stoppage-time winner in that seven-goal thriller against Luton.
It is remarkable how quickly Rice has become a player Arsenal really cannot afford to be without.