Declan Rice has been the talk of the football world after his jaw-dropping performance for Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid, in which he struck for two picture-perfect free kicks to pace his team to a 3-0 victory.
Rice followed that up with an impressive performance in the second leg as the Gunners won both legs to advance to the semi-finals, and he has been one of Arsenal's top players since joining the North London side for a club-record transfer fee in 2023.
However, Arsenal have failed to win a trophy aside the Community Shield since Rice's arrival, and former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara believes the 26-year-old needs to lead his side to a major title — namely, the Premier League crown — before he can be considered among the all-time greats.
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“Declan Rice needs to win the Premier League,” O'Hara told Grosvenor Sport. “He is a world-class midfielder, he proved that against Real Madrid. If you want to be classed as an all-time great, like Frank Lampard and Kevin de Bruyne, you have to win Premier League titles.
“I love watching him, I think his anticipation of danger is excellent, the way he reads the game is brilliant. He’s a leader in that Arsenal team, you could see that against Madrid when he was pulling up Thomas Partey for getting booked. He’s also proven he’s a big game player, but if you want to be considered with the likes of N’Golo Kante and Paul Scholes, you have to win the league title.”
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