Alan Smith: Rice s absence will have a big impact, and the Gunners have no one to replace him

Hupu November 20 News Recently, Alan Smith expressed in an interview with "Metropolitan Daily" that he talked about his views on Arsenal's current situation.

When asked "How will Arsenal respond if injuries occur during the title race?" Alan Smith said: "We have seen Arsenal lose several core players, haven't we? Martin Odegaard may be the most critical one, but Eze is in danger. "

"But if Rice is injured and misses, the impact will be great-the team will lose the propulsion of the midfield and his now crucial set-piece ability, and there is no real replacement for Rice in the Arsenal team. "

"The team's defensive performance has always been excellent. Even in the back line, Mosquera occasionally takes over in critical situations, and they also have backup players like Inkapier, so for me, Rice will be the missing player that the team can't afford to lose the most. "

" I used to think that if the match between Manchester City and Liverpool ended in a stalemate, it would be difficult for us to draw a definite conclusion, but Manchester City performed far better than Liverpool in that game and crushed their opponents, so much so that when you look at Liverpool now, you will doubt whether they have enough strength to compete for the championship. Manchester United and Manchester City - this season's Premier League championship will be a battle between the two teams. It will be very interesting to see how the situation develops."

Another Arsenal star Lee Dixon also believes that Rice is the most important player on Arsenal's road to the championship: "Arsenal's lineup is very deep, with basically two players in each position. Looking at their substitute configuration in each position, the only player who really has no substitute is Rice. He is the kind of all-round midfielder who can cover the whole field. Obviously, he can also play the role of a deep-lying midfielder. We We often see him play like this in Arsenal games. "

"Rice is the heart and soul of Arsenal's midfield - he connects the defense and can penetrate into the opponent's penalty area. And, let's not forget, he is probably the best corner kick taker in the world today. Taking corner kicks like that - the ball can be accurately sent to the dangerous area under the crossbar every time. "

"So I am willing to make a bold statement: If Arsenal has a player who needs to be absent for a long time, and this absence will have a significant impact on the team, that person must be Rice. "