‘Ridiculously good’… Dean Ashton says Arsenal have a player who’s a joke of an athlete

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Declan Rice has been brilliant for Arsenal this season.

The £105m man has made a massive impact and he has gone a long way towards justifying that pricetag with his performances this season.

The midfielder has played a huge part in Arsenal’s title charge this term, and he’s added that extra element of steel and power to the Gunners’ midfield.

Speaking on the Premier League All Access Podcast, Dean Ashton has been full of praise for Rice, and he pointed out just how incredible the midfielder is in an athletic sense, claiming that he has some of the best athletic features we’ve ever seen in the Premier League.

Declan Rice is an incredible athlete

Ashton spoke about the Arsenal star.

“Declan Rice is just a ridiculously good player with some of the best athletic features we’ve seen in the Premier League in terms of covering the ground and reading the play, both getting backwards and forwards,” Ashton said.

Incredible

It often doesn’t need saying, but it’s always worth reminding people just how incredible an athlete Declan Rice is.

Not only is he one of the strongest players in the league, he’s also incredibly fast on and off the ball.

His huge stride length allows him to chew up ground at a ridiculous rate, and when he’s on the ball he’s able to simply glide between the lines more often than not.

Of course, there’s more to being a world-class player than just having remarkable athletic attributes, but Rice’s incredible mix of size, speed and strength make him so difficult to play against.

Arsenal have always been at their best when they have a physically dominant player bossing their midfield a la Patrick Vieira or Gilberto Silva, and now, Rice has taken up that mantle as the dominator in the Arsenal engine room.