Shay Given believes that Mikel Arteta's Arsenal will not secure the Premier League title this season even with the addition of Declan Rice, following his club-record transfer.
The former Manchester City goalkeeper does not consider Rice to be the missing puzzle piece for Arsenal's championship ambitions. Despite Rice's promising debut for Arsenal in a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, Given commented that he looked comfortable and didn't make any mistakes.
However, the pundit emphasizes that Arsenal's success in the title race will be determined by their performance in the final months of the season, rather than the initial exchanges.
“He’s their star player. He’s maybe come in to be the player to make the difference in them winning the league," Given told PL Productions, via HITC.
“Is he the difference to get them the hands on the title? I just don’t know if Arsenal are going to be able to challenge Man City. I really don’t. Even with the quality Declan Rice has. He breaks things up well. He is also a leader in the pack. A talker in a young team. I think he had a really good game," he added.
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