Gary Neville has urged Declan Rice to step up and be the player to secure the Premier League title for Arsenal this weekend once they tackle Manchester City.
After defeat to Bournemouth last week, the Gunners head to the Etihad with a six-point lead on the summit of English football after City took full advantage with a crushing win over Chelsea.
Arsenal are actually looking over their shoulder and defeat to in-form City on Sunday would half that deficit with Pep Guardiola’s side holding a game in hand – against Crystal Palace on a date still to be confirmed by the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side have won just one in every of their 4 games because the international break ended having also lost the Carabao Cup final to City last month.
But a win, or perhaps a draw, in Manchester on Sunday would go a way in easing the considerable pressure piling on the north Londoners.
Arsenal booked their place within the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night with Rice within the side having been a serious doubt ahead of kick-off.
The England international has been the heartbeat of the Arsenal team this season, completing the complete 90 minutes against Sporting despite being ‘shattered’.
Former Manchester United captain Neville, still regretful over his old’s side failure to sign him while he was playing for West Ham, believes Rice is the person who must step up again this weekend.
Arsenal haven’t won on the Etihad since 2015 but Neville has urged Rice to have his ‘Roy Keane or Steven Gerrard moment’ on the blue half of Manchester and send Arsenal towards title glory.
‘I do think Declan Rice is someone… When he went to Arsenal for £100 million, I used to be gutted. I feel he’s a Manchester United player,’ Neville told The Overlap.
‘He’s the player, Harry Kane, Declan Rice, that Manchester United would have at all times signed back within the day. You don’t let Declan Rice go to every other club.
‘To me, on Sunday, he’s the player I’m . This just isn’t me putting pressure on him, by the best way. That is me expecting that that is the Roy Keane moment, the Gerrard moment.’
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