‘Totally different’: Joleon Lescott says £250k-a-week Arsenal player isn’t the player people think he is

Tactics in football are constantly evolving, especially in midfield positions.

25 years ago, the idea of a holding midfielder was even alien to some, before Claude Makelele came into the Premier League and supposedly invented the ‘Makelele role’.

Since then, we’ve seen the evolution of double pivots, inverted full-backs and even half wingers.

Speaking on Filthy Fellas, Joleon Lescott has been discussing the evolution of these midfield roles, and he’s made an interesting point about Declan Rice.

The pundit says that Rice is a player who is perceived in totally the wrong way, claiming that he plays a completely different role at Arsenal than most people think after his time at West Ham.

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Joleon Lescott says Arsenal’s Declan Rice is misjudged

Lescott discussed the £250k-a-week midfielder when speaking about how midfield roles operate.

The pundit claimed that Rice is a totally different player than what people think, stating that his role at Arsenal has changed over the past 12 months.

Rice has been hailed as one of the best players in the Premier League, but Lescott thinks this is a player that is widely misjudged.

“I think it’s difficult to pigeon-hole individuals, especially midfielders now. I think the way Declan Rice plays is totally different to the way he’s perceived. At West Ham everything went through Declan Rice, but at Arsenal it’s totally different, I don’t think it’s about six, eight or 10, it’s about who gets on the ball in the areas you need,” Lescott said.

England star Rice faces best position debate

Lescott is absolutely right, Rice is a player who is perceived wildly differently by different sections of the footballing world.

Paul Merson summed this up brilliantly in the summer at the Euros.

Merson said that Rice wasn’t being used correctly by Gareth Southgate for England as he played in a strict holding midfield role.

“I felt sorry for Declan Rice. I don’t think he’s a holding midfield player. I think he’s one of the eights now,” Merson said.

“When him and Odegaard play and it’s Partey or Jorginho holding, I think he’s a better player where he can burst forward. He finds it hard in tight positions, but if he’s running with the ball at pace, he gets his head up and he can pass the ball.

At Arsenal, Rice is more of a free-roaming midfielder, while for England he’s more of a holding player, while he initially broke through at West Ham as a centre-back.

The reality is that Rice can be used in a number of positions, and that leads to some confusion around what his best role actually is.

Regardless of Rice’s best position, he’s undoubtedly a vital player for both Arsenal and England.

There’s a reason Gary Neville recently called Rice one of Arsenal’s most important players.