Paul Scholes surprised by one quality of Declan Rice in West Ham win

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was surprised by the quality of set-pieces from Arsenal star Declan Rice during the 6-0 Premier League win over West Ham United.

The Gunners continued their fantastic run of form with a stellar win over the Hammers. They dominated the proceedings from the 20th minute and registered their best away victory in the Premier League.

Rice was one of the stand-out performers. He delivered two assists from a corner and free-kick respectively. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were the beneficiaries with headed goals.

The England star capped the performance with a stunning long range strike for the sixth goal.

Speaking to Premier League productions, Scholes said that he was surprised by ‘some fantastic balls’ into the box by Rice and never knew that the midfielder had it in his locker.

He said: “Declan Rice’s delivery has surprised me a little bit, it’s been some fantastic balls in and that’s not something I knew he had in his locker. Set pieces have been where West Ham have really struggled.”

Arsenal went into the game on the back of three winless results against the Hammers. They suffered a 2-0 loss to David Moyes’ side in the reverse fixture despite registering over 30 shots.

They provided the perfect response at the London Stadium with a 6-0 rout. The Hammers were second best in every department and the victory should hold good for the Gunners going forward.

The confidence should be really high within the squad after four successive wins. The club have also started scoring goals from set-pieces which has been a prime area of strength this term.

The club are currently top of the pile in that department with 16 goals. Rice has been influential since the winter break, assisting three goals from set-pieces – two of those for Magalhaes.

Arsenal will be hoping to continue their set-piece threat when they face Burnley on the road this weekend. The Gunners will be favourites to register a fifth successive league win.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com