Topics: Arsenal, Declan Rice, Fulham, Premier League, Richard Keys
Richard Keys has slammed Declan Rice following his performance in Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Fulham - even giving the midfielder a savage new nickname.
The Gunners slipped to their second consecutive Premier League defeat on Sunday afternoon despite taking the lead at Craven Cottage.
Bukayo Saka's opener was cancelled out by goals from Raul Jimenez and Bobby De Cordova-Reid in each half.
It leaves Mikel Arteta's side fourth in the table as we enter 2024, five points behind leaders Liverpool.
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Arsenal haven't been up to their usual high standards over the festive period, with several players looking fatigued.
Among those are Rice, who followed up a poor game against former side West Ham United last midweek with another uninspired display against Fulham.
The 24-year-old joined Arsenal in a £105 million transfer over the summer and initially impressed.
He's dropped off over the last few weeks and it didn't take long for beIN SPORTS anchor Keys to have his say.
In his weekly blog, Keys claimed he is a huge fan of Rice but believes he is wasted in Arteta's system.
He believes the England international is being forced to play 'tippy-tappy' football when he'd be more suited to getting stuck in as he did at West Ham.
Rice captained the Hammers to Europa Conference League glory before moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Keys then coined the 'Declan Nice' moniker to sum up his current position.
"Let’s get this clear straight away, I’m a huge fan of Declan Rice. I think he’s a Rolls-Royce. I said when Arsenal signed him that he was the best piece of business any club had done in that window," Keys explained.
"He’s class. But he’s also wasted playing for Arsenal right now. What is the point of paying £110 [sic] million for a player only to get him to tippy-tappy about in mid-field doing what a bang ordinary jobber could do?
"All he did for 90 minutes at Craven Cottage was drop between his centre-backs, pick up a sideways pass from them - knock it into Odegaard - get it back - knock it sideways or back again, before repeating the process time and time again. Why?
"Rice didn’t do anything to hurt Fulham. Nothing. Not one raking pass. Not one crunching challenge. Not one shot at goal. Nothing. So what’s the point of him? He’s become Declan Nice."
