“His passing is very underrated” - Jamie Carragher lavishes praise on Arsenal star after 6-0 win over Sheffield United

Jamie Carragher has showered praise on Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice after the Gunners' 6-0 Premier League away win against Sheffield United on Monday, March 4.

Martin Odegaard (5') opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta's team before Jayden Bogie (13') scored an own goal. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli (15'), Kai Havertz (25'), Rice (39'), and Ben White (58') sealed a resounding lead for the north Londoners.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Carragher pointed out that Rice doesn't get enough credit for his array of passing. The Liverpool legend said (via HITC):

“You can’t have a go at Declan Rice for not scoring enough goals if he played number one at West Ham, in a team who liked to counter-attack and sit in, always going to be difficult. He then comes to Arsenal, he’s at the base of a midfield three, so his job is to sit there!”

He added:

“So I didn’t understand the criticism, but I always felt that he had the ability to do that and so did his manager, and we’re seeing it now. Sometimes he’s playing as a high eight, a high position. His passing is very underrated and, hopefully, as time goes on, we’ll be talking about his goalscoring ability being underrated as well.”

Declan Rice, since his reported £105 million summer move from West Ham United, has now scored five goals and has provided six assists in 37 appearances across competitions for Arsenal. This season, Rice has enjoyed a pass accuracy of 91 percent, including 1,662 successful passes and 68 accurate long balls while creating 29 chances.

---

Mikel Arteta speaks about Arsenal's dominance against Sheffield United

Arsenal were rampant in the Premier League win against Sheffield United. Mikel Arteta's side took control of the game from the start and earned a decisive win.

The Spanish coach said after the game that his team are always looking to improve. Arteta said (via the Gunners' website):

"We are trying to improve in every phase of play; they are understanding the chemistry of the players and the desire they have to constantly be better, and improve in every area. If you do that, there are moments that you can be as dominant but it’s not easy that’s for sure."

The Gunners finished the game with a ball possession of 81 percent. They had a total of 22 shots (10 on target) against four from Sheffield United (zero on target).

Arsenal return to action on Saturday, March 9, as they play Brentford in a Premier League home game.