‘He may become a legend’: Pundit says Arsenal may have found their very own Sergio Busquets now

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Declan Rice may have only played a handful of games for Arsenal so far, but he’s already a fan favourite.

Indeed, the midfielder is already seen as one of the Gunners’ most important players, and we’ve already seen discussion about what his overall Arsenal legend will be.

Tim Sherwood has stated that Rice will ultimately become an Arsenal legend, and now, speaking on ESPN, Janusz Michallik has echoed that sentiment.

Michallik responded after being asked to compare Rice with Patrick Vieira, and he actually said that they’re very different players, claiming Rice is more similar to Sergio Busquets, stating that he can form his own legend at Arsenal without being compared to Vieira.

Rice can be Arsenal’s Busquets

Michallik shared his verdict on Rice.

“I think it’s a tough comparison. First and foremost they’re different players. I think it’s difficult, and I don’t think he needs to. He needs to become Declan Rice the legend. Let him become the Busquets of Arsenal or the Rodri of Manchester City. With someone like Rodri there is nobody like him in that position right now. If you want to compare him to Busquets as well, it’s a bit unfair as well. He’s doing what Busquets has done, he’s a bit different. Declan Rice will not be invincible, that record is nearly impossible. Patrick Vieira being that captain, it’s tough to ask anyone to be somebody else. I think he may become a legend, his transition from West Ham to Arsenal has been exceptional, he’s been excellent in every game. He just slid into Arsenal into that midfield and he’s bossing it and doing a great job,” Michallik said.

Early days

It’s way too early to be making claims like this.

Comparing Rice to Vieira does make sense. After all, they’re both similar midfielders and have links to Arsenal, but to say Rice could be Arsenal’s Busquets is a huge call.

Busquets was genuinely one of Barcelona’s greatest ever players, he won everything there was to win with La Blaugrana and then some all while being a homegrown player. Meanwhile, Rice has played a handful of games for Arsenal and cost a club-record fee that he still has to work towards justifying.

Rice could end up being an Arsenal legend, but we should slow down this sort of chat until he starts to win some major trophies.