West Ham's Declan Rice is the perfect player to replace the void left by Gilberto Silva at Arsenal.

• Rice will fill the void Invincibles hero Gilberto Silva left 12 years ago.

• The West Ham defensive midfielder has been a much-discussed person since he emerged as one of the top young talents in the Premier League.

Declan Rice has been a hot topic of late. [Getty Images]

Rice has been tipped for a bright future by the Hammers coaching staff.

Former England midfielder Paul Merson has no doubt Declan Rice will be a great addition to the Gunners.

Rice was a member of Chelsea's academy until 2014, when he was released and joined the east London club.

The England and West Ham midfielder made his senior debut in 2017 and has quickly emerged as one of the top young talents in the Premier League.

Following his brilliant displays, the 20-year-old has been constantly linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge, however, former Three Lions midfielder reckons Arsenal would benefit more from signing the defensive midfield ace.

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"Chelsea have been linked with him, but I don't know why Arsenal aren't looking at Declan Rice," the football expert told Sky Sports. "Arsenal are crying out for a holding midfield player. They don't need a midfielder who's going to be on the edge of the opposition box, they need a disciplined defensive midfielder, who is going to sit in front of the back four and organise the side; one who, when he gets the ball, gives it simple with 10-yard passes. "It's such a hard job and that's why I can't believe Arsenal aren't going in for a player like Rice. "A player like Rice can allow the attacking players to flourish and it gives the central defenders the chance to be better than what they are.

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“I don't care who you are in football, Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and even a Virgil van Dijk, if you've got people running at you left, right and centre every minute, they are going to go past you on occasions. “Arsenal haven't really had a disciplined defensive midfielder since Gilberto Silva. Everyone talks about the club never really replacing Patrick Vieira, and of course, but they never replaced Gilberto either. “There are players in the current team that are meant to do that job but they don't have the discipline to do it, and that needs addressing.”

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