Mikel Arteta Reveals Decision to Try Declan Rice at Centre-Half for Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has revealed that he decided to try out Declan Rice at centre-half against PSV Eindhoven as a contingency plan for any potential issues with Arsenal’s regular defensive options.
Changes for the Final Group Game
With Arsenal already securing qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Arteta made eight changes to the starting lineup for the final group game against PSV.
William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, and Kai Havertz were the only players who retained their places in the team after the weekend defeat to Aston Villa. Eddie Nketiah scored the only goal in a 1-1 draw in Eindhoven.
Experimenting with Rice
Arteta made substitutions just after the hour mark, bringing on Rice and Ben White for Cedric Soares and Saliba. Rice played as a centre-half for the remainder of the game.
Arteta explained that he wanted to try out Rice in this position in case any of his first-choice options get injured during the busy festive period. He mentioned that Rice has played there before and it was important to test him in case of an emergency.
Arteta emphasized the need to fill any gaps in the defense in the right way and acknowledged that Rice’s versatility could be valuable in such situations.
Upcoming Fixtures
Arsenal will resume league action against Brighton on Sunday.
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