Rio Ferdinand believes that Declan Rice "produced a Steven Gerrard moment" with his brace of free-kicks against Real Madrid.
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Rice scored two sensational goalsArsenal won 3-0 against MadridFerdinand compares him to Liverpool legendFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice for his brace against Real in the Champions League, describing his display as a "Steven Gerrard moment". The Liverpool legend made his name by scoring outlandish goals in huge games, just as Rice did in midweek.
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Rice, a £100 million signing from West Ham in the summer, has impressed since moving across London, and Ferdinand believes that he has now truly arrived as a top player for Arsenal, as they stand just 90 minutes from the Champions League semi-finals.
WHAT FERDINAND SAID
Speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Ferdinand said: "Every top player needs a stand-out moment and you go, 'I remember where I was that day when Declan Rice done that'. He hadn't had that yet in an Arsenal shirt. This was that moment for him. To then see him grab a game like that… I wonder what that does for him moving forward now. He's done it. Confidence-wise, it does a lot."
AFPWHAT NEXT?
Arsenal play Brentford this weekend before they meet Madrid for the second leg in Spain next week.