Declan Rice told how to reach Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard levels as Arsenal's £105m midfielder receives new challenge

Since his British-record move from West Ham in 2023, Rice has established himself as the undisputed heartbeat of Mikel Arteta’s side. His influence in north London has been profound, transforming Arsenal’s midfield with his ability to break up play and drive the team forward. His delivery from set-pieces has also become a crucial weapon for the Gunners, contributing a steady stream of assists to his tally to boost their Premier League title bid this season.

However, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy believes Rice has now ascended to a level where he is the standard-bearer for midfielders across the continent. Speaking to BestBettingSites.co.uk, Murphy was unequivocal in his praise.

"Yes, Declan Rice is the most complete midfielder in Europe at the moment," Murphy declared. "I think he has amazing versatility in being able to do nearly all aspects of the game."

Murphy highlighted that Rice is a "blessed footballer" who combines endurance and strength with the ability to play off both feet. "I always watch him and think he’s the type of midfielder you’d hate to play against," Murphy added. "Because when he’s bearing down on you to pressure, you know you’re in trouble. He does it with such discipline and such pace."

Despite his dominance in the engine room, Murphy argues that Rice cannot yet sit at the same table as Gerrard and Lampard - two titans who defined their respective eras.

Gerrard remains Liverpool’s greatest modern player, a captain who dragged his team to Champions League glory in Istanbul in 2005 and FA Cup success in 2006. Lampard, meanwhile, stands as Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer, a midfielder who won three Premier League titles and the Champions League by consistently arriving in the box to decide matches.

Murphy believes that to join that pantheon, Rice must replicate their knack for deciding the biggest games in world football.

"For Declan Rice to be spoken of in the same breath as a Gerrard or a Lampard, he needs to win the big ones, and he also needs to have the magic moments more often, like he did against Real Madrid," he said. "When you think of Liverpool and Chelsea, and Lampard and Gerrard over the years, you can just pick moments - big games, big goals. Lampard against Barcelona. Cup finals. Gerrard in cup finals, European finals. The best players produce those magic moments to get the team over the line."

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Rice’s development has created a unique luxury for Arsenal: he is effectively two world-class players in one. Murphy noted that Rice’s skillset is now so broad that managers ideally need two of him on the pitch - one to screen the defence and one to drive the team forward.

This mirrors the evolution of Gerrard, who burst onto the scene as a combative defensive midfielder before growing into an all-action, match-winning No. 8. Murphy sees Rice following a similar trajectory, especially now he has been afforded more freedom by the arrival of Martin Zubamendi.

"In a way it’s a difficult one, because he could easily be our best holding midfielder for England and the best number eight. So really, you want two of him," Murphy said. "We had a similar problem, in a way, with Gerrard. When Gerrard first came into the Liverpool team, people talked about him being the holding midfielder, sitting there forever, spraying the ball about and doing his defensive work with his physicality. Then he grew into a more attacking player, as you know, someone who in the second half of his career was never defensively minded. I think Declan’s probably trying to get to that level now. "

The final piece of the puzzle for Rice, according to Murphy, is a greater output in the final third. While the midfielder has been a creative force from corners, Murphy believes a player of his technical quality should be scoring more goals from open play, much like Lampard did with frightening regularity.

"I think he personally would want to contribute more goals and assists because he knows he’s capable," Murphy said. "That’s one area of the game he’s really trying hard to improve, because we know technically he’s very good and when he gets in positions he can score, and he should be scoring more with the ability he’s got."