Arteta praises ‘special’ Rice and his impact at set pieces | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has backed Declan Rice to keep improving on a fine start to life at the club and praised the impact he has had at set pieces.

The Gunners face Burnley in a crucial match at both ends of the Premier League table. A win for Arsenal could see them go top of the league once again if Liverpool drop points in the early kick off.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been in excellent form since returning from the winter break, scoring 16 times and conceding just twice in four matches.

A player central to this improved form for has been Declan Rice, who has further added to his game this season in the form of set pieces. The midfielder has picked up three assists in his last four matches, all from set pieces, and also scored against former club West Ham.

Arteta acknowledged the ever growing presence of his midfield general, praising his consistency and ever growing skillset: “It is a quality that we knew that he had in relation to the players we have on the pitch and the players attacking the box as well.

“He’s been practising as well. He’s been excellent because he’s got the consistency and the quality with his deliveries which makes it another way of threatening the opponent.

“There are areas that he can have a huge impact for the team and this is one of them. There are others that are going to be related to his position, because at the moment we get different layers of him because of all the different positions he can occupy on the pitch.

“He can make a big impact as well on the opponent’s box. But as well defensively, because he can bring something special to the team that allows a lot of transition moments.”

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Arsenal have been the most deadly side from set pieces this season, scoring 16 times from them.

And Arteta praised the work of set piece coach Nico Jover for his side’s record.

“It’s very important to open games, to finish games, especially against the amount of teams we play with low blocks with the lack of space,” he added.

“It’s an opportunity to put numbers in the box and it’s a chance to create very chaotic moments for the opponent and it’s a good chance to score.

“Then they started to work, especially with Nico (Jover). They built that relationship, trust and timing.”