‘Will be a legend’: Tim Sherwood says Arsenal now have a player who’s miles better than Granit Xhaka
Declan Rice arrived at Arsenal as the biggest signing of their summer transfer window, and it’s fair to say that he hasn’t disappointed so far.
The midfielder has lived up to all expectations so far in the Arsenal midfield as he has dominated big games, and he’s even already scored a huge goal for the Gunners.
Rice has been brilliant for Arsenal so far, and according to Tim Sherwood, speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, the England international is already proving to be a massive upgrade on Granit Xhaka, claiming that he will be a legend by the time he leaves Arsenal.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Rice will be a legend
Sherwood spoke highly of the midfielder.
“He’s a massive upgrade on Xhaka who was there for Arsenal last season. It is a big improvement to the midfield and he has taken to it like a duck to water,” Sherwood said.
“Declan is one of the players who everyone loves, fans love him, teammates love him and ultimately the manager always loves him. He was a legend when he left Arsenal and he will be a legend when he leaves Arsenal.”
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolverhampton Wanderers FC via Getty Images
Upgrade on Xhaka?
We agree with Sherwood that Rice is looking better than Xhaka, but he hasn’t really replaced the Swiss star in this team.
Indeed, Rice has played more the Thomas Partey role so far this season, with Kai Havertz acting as the Xhaka replacement, and, in all honesty, Havertz hasn’t looked up to the task.
Perhaps moving Rice into that Xhaka role and playing Partey alongside him upon his return from injury could be the way forwards for Arsenal, but, as things stand, their midfield balance is looking a bit off compared to last season due to Havertz’s continued underperformance.
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op 10 highest-paid Arsenal players revealed as Martin Odegaard signs new five-year deal
The top 10 highest-paid players at Arsenal have been revealed after Martin Odegaard signed a new deal.
On Friday morning, Arsenal confirmed that Odegaard has put pen to paper on a new long-term contract to extend his stay at the Emirates club.
Odegaard initially joined the Gunners on a loan deal from Real Madrid back in January 2021.
In August 2021, Odegaard joined Arsenal on a permanent deal for a reported fee of €35 million.
Since then, he has become one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players and was also named club captain.
On the back of his new contract, it has was reported by The Athletic that the Norwegian is now the club’s highest-paid player.
Currently, according to Spotrac, Kai Havertz is the highest-earning Arsenal player with a weekly wage of £280,000.
Odegaard is set to take home more than that after his new deal.
Here are the top 10 highest-earning Arsenal players according to Spotrac:
Martin Odegaard – £280,000+
Kai Havertz – £280,000
Gabriel Jesus – £265,000
Declan Rice – £240,000
Thomas Partey – £200,000
Bukayo Saka – £195,000
William Saliba – £190,000
Oleksandar Zinchenko – £150,000
Ben White – £120,000
Jorginho – £110,000
Image Credit: Getty
Speaking after signing his new contract, Odegaard told the club’s official website: “Signing a new contract was a really easy decision for me for lots of reasons.
