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Declan Rice was at the heart of the discussion after Arsenal’s 4-1 North London Derby win against Tottenham, and now Paul Scholes has shared his thoughts.
Rice made a costly error in the North London Derby, seeing Randal Kolo Muani dispossess him to then score just moments after Arsenal’s opening goal.
Despite the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Tottenham, Rice’s mishap has not been forgotten, generating discussion from fans and pundits.
Gary Lineker likened Rice’s error to Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip when Liverpool were chasing the title, and now, Scholes has shared his take on the incident.
Yet another mistake from Arsenal, how worried are you about the nerves in the squad?
A howler from Declan Rice 🫣
Credit: Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC Paul Scholes thinks Declan Rice showed he is too emotional during the North London Derby
Scholes heavily praised Viktor Gyokeres’ performance against Spurs when speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
When it came to Rice, the Manchester United legend also didn’t hold back, but not in a necessarily positive light.
“When I look at Declan Rice, he almost looks too emotional,” Scholes said.
“Do you know what I mean? He’s lively. He’s [like] come on, come on, come on. And then he makes his mistake.”
Like Lineker, Scholes focused on Rice’s motivational speech during Arsenal’s opening goal celebrations.
Moments after rallying his team, frantically telling them to remain focused and calm, he made a goal-causing error.
Nicky Butt responds to Paul Scholes’ claim about Declan Rice being emotional
There’s been a lot of talk about whether Rice should be Arsenal captain, and while Scholes made his concerns clear, he soon assured that he believes the former West Ham skipper is captain material.
Agree or disagree? Is Declan Rice too emotional?
Paul Scholes seems to think so
Credit: Getty Images/Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside
In response to Scholes’ comments, co-host Nicky Butt shared his thoughts, agreeing with his former teammate, while countering his argument to reason with Rice’s emotional actions.
“I think he is a top leader. I think he’s a leader. Like Scholes said, but I think he just wants to win it so much,” Butt replied.
“So, he made his mistake yesterday. I just think they need some calmness in that team.”
Butt believes Rice’s emotions come as a result of his desperation to win the Premier League at Arsenal this season, which is reasonable.
The duo, who have plenty of Premier League title-winning experience between them, still believe that calmness is what the Arsenal squad need from a leader now, which Rice needs to dial in to.
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