Arsenal produced a first-half masterclass to put today’s clash with West Ham to bed before the half-time break even arrived.
The Gunners were ruthless in taking their chances as the likes of Gabriel, Saliba, Saka and Trossard all found themselves on the scoresheet in the opening 45 minutes.
For Mikel Arteta, it was an absolute dream to see his side execute and take their chances, as the work with the set-piece coach in training clearly paid dividends.
Key to those set-pieces doing well was the delivery from Declan Rice. The England man seems to be developing his game from dead-balls and he produced today.
And watching on for PL Productions, Paul Scholes admitted he was really surprised by just how good Rice was from those positions.
“Saka’s been a real threat and Trossard has been really good in midfield. Declan Rice’s delivery has surprised me a little bit, it’s been some fantastic balls in and that’s not something I knew he had in his locker. Set pieces have been where West Ham have really struggled,” Scholes said.
Declan Rice is going to another level
Most Premier League midfielders will be able to take a good set-piece on the odd occasion but it takes a top player to do it over and over again.
Of course, Paul Scholes played with one of the best to ever do it in the form of David Beckham so for Rice to get some praise from him will feel nice.
Being good from set-pieces and having someone in the team who can produce over and over is massive to any team wanting to enjoy any success
Rice seems to be taking it upon himself to become the main man in this area and looking at the evidence today, he’s doing very well in learning his new craft.