{"id":414768,"date":"2026-02-08T15:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T15:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/414768\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T15:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T15:09:09","slug":"really-special-sunderland-star-praises-arsenal-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/414768\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cReally special\u201d Sunderland star praises Arsenal man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"361\">Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki has spoken openly about his admiration for Arsenal star Declan Rice, highlighting the qualities that make him such a formidable opponent. Rice has established himself as one of the leading midfielders in world football over the last few terms and continues to play a central role in guiding Arsenal towards success this season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"363\" data-end=\"774\">Arsenal remain among the strongest teams in the country and have consistently delivered solid performances, with Rice acting as a driving force in midfield. His influence has been clear in both defensive and attacking phases, helping the Gunners maintain their high standards. Arsenal faced stiff competition from several clubs to secure his signature, a reflection of how highly regarded he is across the game.<\/p>\n<p>Rice\u2019s importance to Arsenal\u2019s ambitions<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"821\" data-end=\"1250\">Rice is viewed as untouchable within the squad and is expected to remain a key figure as Arsenal pursue further achievements this season. His consistency over the last few terms has reinforced his reputation as one of the standout midfielders of his generation. Week after week, he demonstrates the level of control, intensity and intelligence required at the top level, making him invaluable to the team\u2019s structure and balance.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1581\">His performances have ensured that Arsenal continue to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/forget-waiting-for-arsenal-west-ham-officially-confirm-declan-rice-deal\/344356\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">benefit from their investment<\/a>, while his leadership and reliability have helped the side navigate challenging fixtures. Many of the best teams in world football would welcome a player of his calibre, underlining just how important he has become to Arsenal\u2019s long-term plans.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Declan-Rice-Newcastle.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-392572 has-webp\" alt=\"Declan Rice Newcastle\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:1200\/677;max-width:1200px\"\/>(Photo by Shaun Botterill\/Getty Images)Sadiki reflects on facing Rice<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1618\" data-end=\"1837\">Rice\u2019s quality is also recognised by fellow professionals, and Sadiki has offered insight into what makes him such a difficult opponent to face. Speaking according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voetbalprimeur.be\/nieuws\/1739868\/sadiki-moet-rice-in-toom-houden-tegen-arsenal-hij-loopt-snel.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Voetbal Primeur<\/a>, the Sunderland midfielder said:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1839\" data-end=\"1890\">\u201cRice is really special to play one-on-one against.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1892\" data-end=\"2063\">\u201cAt first, I wondered: do I run as much as he does? He runs a lot, but he also runs fast. He always chooses the right pass, he does everything at the right tempo, you see.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2065\" data-end=\"2131\">\u201cOnly good players play in the Premier League, really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2133\" data-end=\"2299\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Sadiki\u2019s comments show the respect Rice commands across the league and further emphasise why he continues to be regarded as one of the finest midfielders around.<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<br \/>ADMIN COMMENT<\/p>\n<p>So <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/justarsenal-comments-rules-for-subscribers\/313188\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here are some simple rules<\/a> which I must insist commenters follow\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.<\/p>\n<p>CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/about-us\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">please contact us through this link\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\t\tMore Stories \/ Latest News<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/hes-outstanding-paul-merson-singles-out-one-arsenal-man-for-praise\/409514\" title=\"\u201cHe\u2019s outstanding\u201d Paul Merson singles out one Arsenal man for praise\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"741\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Paul-Merson.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-381982 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Paul Merson\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/one-of-the-best-feelings-pundit-says-arsenal-has-now-put-man-city-under-pressure\/409513\" title=\"\u201cOne of the best feelings\u201d Pundit says Arsenal has now put Man City under pressure\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1140\" height=\"760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Berbatov.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-351547 lazyload\" alt=\"Berbatov\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/focus-ian-wright-reacts-to-arsenals-win-against-sunderland\/409512\" title=\"\u201cFocus\u201d Ian Wright reacts to Arsenal\u2019s win against Sunderland\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ian-Wright.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-387489 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Ian Wright\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki has spoken openly about his admiration for Arsenal star Declan Rice, highlighting the qualities&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-414768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}