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Roy Keane insists Arsenal star Declan Rice is \u201ctoo nice\u201d and questioned who he\u2019s \u201csmashed\u201d in the \u201cbig boy stuff\u201d that is football at the highest level.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta revealed Rice was \u201cshattered\u201d<\/strong> after recovering from illness to play the full 90 minutes on Wednesday as the Gunners set up a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid through a \u201cboring\u201d 0-0 draw with Sporting to see them through 1-0 on aggregate.<\/p>\n It was another unconvincing display from Arteta\u2019s side ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Sunday, which has been dubbed the title decider after the Gunners\u2019 defeat to Bournemouth last weekend.<\/p>\n READ MORE: No fire, pure fear as Arsenal scrape into Champions League semi-final with fraught 0-0 draw<\/strong><\/p>\n And Gary Neville reckons we could see \u201cthe Roy Keane moment, the Steven Gerrard moment\u201d from Rice, who\u2019s been one of the standout players for Arsenal this term.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you not think this is Declan\u2019s moment?\u201d he asked on The Overlap<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cRice is someone who when he went to Arsenal for \u00a3100m I was gutted.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s a Manchester United player. Harry Kane, Declan Rice that Manchester United would have signed back in the day.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t let Declan Rice<\/strong> go to any other club. He is a player who will win you the league. On Sunday he is the player I\u2019m looking at and this isn\u2019t me putting pressure on him. This is me expecting this is the Roy Keane moment, the Steven Gerrard moment.\u201d<\/p>\n But Keane bristled at the suggestion and hit out at the England international for being \u201cbest pals with everybody\u201d rather than \u201csmashing\u201d opponents.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHe\u2019s too nice. All I ever hear is he\u2019s a really nice guy and he\u2019s a good guy and all of this.<\/p>\n \u201cI know he\u2019s a good player but I don\u2019t think he gets a grip of people. He\u2019s best mates with everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean falling out with people, challenging people in the dressing room. You\u2019re on about Bournemouth, you\u2019re criticising the manager and Arteta, listen after 50 minutes he made three substitutions.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t sit on his hands until the last 10 minutes. He did make changes. Eventually it comes down to the players and I want Rice to challenge people.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see games where it\u2019s not going right and I don\u2019t see Declan Rice pulling up anybody.<\/p>\n \u201cDid he get a grip of his teammates or did he smash anybody? Did he smash any Bournemouth players who are all having a lovely day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to know what he\u2019s like in the dressing room, does he challenge people? Is he best pals with everybody. I\u2019m always wary.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not what the game is about. It\u2019s big boy stuff. You\u2019ve got to challenge people and fall out with people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n