Declan Rice tipped for even bigger impact after Mikel Arteta's flexible decision

Declan Rice has been tipped to succeed as a more advanced midfielder by England interim head coach Lee Carsley - but the Arsenal star must continue adding more goals and assists to his game.
The 25-year-old scored the opening goal against former team Ireland in Dublin on Saturday with a well-taken finish.

And Carsley is urging Rice to do it more often because he has all the attributes required to succeed as a number eight.

Rice came through the ranks at West Ham as a holding midfielder who often stepped into their defence. But with Mikel Arteta now deciding to use him slightly further forward as part of a more flexible system, Rice is beginning to make more of an impact going forward.

Carsley, who will take charge of England at Wembley for the first time on Tuesday evening, said: “I think Declan can do a lot of roles. I have seen him play deeper for West Ham and for Arsenal and recently in higher positions.

“You can see by the way he took his goal. I think it’s really important that he keeps adding goals to his game and assists.

“If you are playing in those higher areas it’s a really good attribute to have, getting on the scoresheet every week or contributing to goal assists. It’s a big thing.”

Carsley is also keen on giving Angel Gomes, whom he worked with closely at under-21 level, more opportunities to impress in a holding role.

The former Manchester United academy player, who now stars for Ligue 1 side Lille, came off the bench against Ireland and could feature against Finland tonight.

“With the game on Saturday, we knew it was going to be physical,” Carsley added. “We knew there was a period looking at the game back where there’s maybe about 12 minutes where we didn’t quite have control of the game but it was a bit back and forward which is not how I want the team to play.

“I put Angel on then, he gets the ball, he slows things down and he gets you playing again. Even in a physical game like that. He’s more than capable of doing that.

“To get into the squad and already make his debut, as did Morgan, is a good achievement. I’ve got total belief in Angel that if called upon, he’d be fine.”

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