‘He’s one of a kind’… Paul Merson says 24-year-old Arsenal player is completely unique

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Declan Rice cost Arsenal £105m in the summer, and you only pay that much money for a player if they’re unlike anyone else.

Indeed, while football economics aren’t quite as simple as other markets, the idea of supply and demand still stands.

Rice may not be the very best player in the world, but he’s one of very few top-quality holding midfielders in England right now.

Indeed, speaking on Jeff Stelling’s Football’s Greatest podcast, Paul Merson has been discussing the lack of defensive midfield players coming through right now, and he’s noted that Declan Rice is a one of a kind player in England in that regard, claiming that coaches are now neglecting that position from a young age.

Rice is one of a kind

Merson spoke about the Arsenal star.

“I don’t get it, I don’t get it. Everyone says we don’t produce holding midfield players, Declan Rice is the only one, he’s one of a kind, the problem is that we don’t play that position we work with wingers and full-backs, it’s a thing, if you’re a winger you go back to full-back,: Merson said.

Spot on

Merson is absolutely right, coaches are now neglecting the idea of bringing through these traditional number sixes.

Rice is the only one who has come through for a long time now, and even then he started his career earmarked as a centre-half for West Ham, ending up in midfield by chance rather than by design.

There’s always going to be debate about what youth coaches should be doing, but the fact that we seem to be moving away from producing traditional defensive midfield players isn’t necessarily a good thing for the future of the English national team or the tactical balance of the Premier League.