Paul Scholes shares his strong opinion on Declan Rice, while fans tell Arsenal to ‘sell’ the midfielder.
Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes thinks Arsenal should sell a first-team player this summer instead of letting young Myles Lewis-Skelly leave. He also made a surprising comment about Declan Rice.
Arsenal have already signed four players this summer. Bruno Guimaraes joined for £75 million from Newcastle, while Piero Hincapie’s loan was turned into a permanent deal after a strong season. Mikel Arteta also brought in Greek winger Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, who has shown promise in pre-season. Plus, former Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier arrived to back up David Raya.
On the other hand, Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Christian Norgaard, and Karl Hein have left, and Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri might move to Turkish side Galatasaray. Academy player Lewis-Skelly has drawn interest from Chelsea and Manchester United. But Scholes thinks selling the 19-year-old would be a mistake. Instead, he feels Arsenal should consider letting Martin Zubimendi go, as the Spaniard is also linked to Chelsea.
On the Overlap Fan Debate by Sky Bet, Scholes said, “I prefer Myles Lewis-Skelly in central midfield over Zubimendi. I think Zubimendi struggled last season. If you’re getting rid of one player, it should be him.” He added, “The left-back spot is tricky because Arteta played with four center-backs last year.”
Scholes also shared doubts about how Guimaraes and Declan Rice would play together. He explained that Guimaraes excelled at Newcastle alongside players like Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, who complemented him well.
He said, “I’m not sure how Guimaraes and Rice fit next to each other. Guimaraes needs energetic teammates like he had at Newcastle. I prefer players like Tonali for their athleticism and work rate. Bruno played in a midfield three at Newcastle with those guys, and they were outstanding. I don’t know if Rice suits that.”
The 51-year-old believes Guimaraes can help Arsenal play exciting football more than Rice or Zubimendi, who are more about holding midfield roles.
“Guimaraes will move the game forward and create chances. He should score around ten goals for Arsenal. I think Arsenal missed that last year. Rice and Zubimendi are good pivots but don’t make the team play attractive football. Guimaraes will improve Arsenal’s passing game.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher agreed, calling Guimaraes a good player but wanting to see more consistency and energy from him on the pitch.
Arsenal will play Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 16, then start their Premier League season at home against Coventry on August 21.