David Seaman says 24-year-old Arsenal man does so much ‘unnoticed work’ for the team

David Seaman has been raving about new Arsenal signing Declan Rice and his impeccable work rate.

Seaman was speaking on TalkSPORT after Arsenal maintained their 100% record in the Premier League yesterday.

It was far from easy for Mikel Arteta’s side against Crystal Palace yesterday.

Losing Takehiro Tomiyasu to a harsh red card in the second half didn’t help matters.

The Japanese defender was booked for time wasting, despite Kai Havertz holding onto the ball for much longer than he did.

He was then adjudged to have pulled back Jordan Ayew on the halfway line and despite minimal contact, Tomiyasu was given his marching orders.

It meant that the remaining Arsenal players had plenty of extra running to do to protect their 1-0 lead.

Mikel Arteta took off most of his attacking players, leaving just Kai Havertz and Declan Rice on for the full 90 minutes.

Seaman has praised Rice and the work he does in the background for Arsenal during games.

The 24-year-old is going to be vital to any success Arsenal enjoy this season such as his quality in midfield.

Seaman praises Rice’s work-rate for Arsenal

Reflecting on yesterday’s result, Seaman said: “But the main star of all, all right he’s got the biggest transfer fee, is Declan [Rice]. He gets around that pitch and he does a lot of unnoticed work.

“All of a sudden you see him popping up and he’s always clearing up, he’s always tidying up after players. That’s the type of guy that he is and hopefully that’s going to lead to trophies for him in the future.”

Rice controlled the match well in the middle of the pitch, misplacing just six of his passes all game.

Although he only won two of his duels – for context Havertz topped his stat with eight – Rice’s presence screening the defence was vital yesterday.

Jamie Carragher said he was the best player on the pitch despite criticising his shooting ability.

Seaman very much enjoyed Rice’s performance though and can see him being an important player for Arsenal for some time. It’s why the club have spent a record fee on him and he’s already beginning to repay that faith.