Arsenal were forced into a reshuffle in the first half of their match with West Ham, as Ben White picked up an injury after 25 minutes. But when Martin Zubimendi came off the bench to replace the defender, with Declan Rice moving to right-back, Manchester United icon Gary Neville did not agree with the decision.
Zubimendi had been out of the team, with Myles Lewis-Skelly in inspired form since being handed a recall to the team in midfield. Neville had expected the Arsenal youngster to revert to right-back, despite never playing a minute of football there, with defender Cristhian Mosquera sitting back down on the bench.
But when Rice was shifted to right-back in place of White, initially while Arsenal played on with 10 men, Neville was adament that the England man would not stay there.
“He can’t put Declan Rice there,” the Sky Sports commentator said. “I have to say that is easily prevented if you go in strong wth a real sturdy block. He swung his leg out, in a pretty weak fashion. You are asking for trouble.”
When it emerged that even with Zubimendi on the pitch, Rice would join the back four, with the Spanish star joining Lewis-Skelly and Eberechi Eze in the middle, Neville was gobsmacked.
“Declan Rice is going to stay at right-back, I am stunned actually,” Neville added. “I have just been told there is no evidence Miles Lewis-Skelly has ever played right-back. But to take Declan Rice out of the middle of the pitch is a big call.”
Fellow commentator Peter Drury explained that Mikel Arteta would likely want a more established ball-playing figure at right-back, rather than Mosquera, Neville still felt that Rice should have been kept in his original position.
“If I was a Man City fan, I’d be more interested now than after the first 10 minutes,” he continued. “I’d be slightly concerned as a Spurs fan. West Ham have definitely improved.
“Things have changed in this game. The Arsenal midfield is now open and the right is not locked down. It’s obvious but I’d be thinking about getting Rice back into the middle of the park if I was Mikel Arteta.”
Leandro Trossard hit the bar in the first half but West Ham gradually grew into the opening 45 minutes and David Raya had to come to the rescue from a powerful Taty Castellanos header.