Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has urged his old club to sign 'next N'Golo Kante' to give Declan Rice the perfect partner in crime. Gallas spent four years at the Emirates after his controversial move from Chelsea.

The majority of Arsenal fans might be urging Mikel Arteta to sign a prolific striker this summer, however, Gallas believes it’s the midfield area that his old club needs to address. The former France international has argued that his attacking talents are being restricted by the lack of a holding player in engine room.

“Arsenal need to find a player that plays in front of the centre backs to give Rice the freedom to express himself,” he told Gambling Zone, via the Express.

“Maybe Arsenal can play with two midfielders, with Odegaard in front of him. Of course, Rice can play that holding role, but when you watch him play, he looks like he wants to go forward because he has the energy and physical attributes to do it.

“I think Arsenal need to find a player like N’Golo Kante. Pogba and Kante worked beautifully as a central pair. Most of the time Pogba went forward and Kante stayed back, and vice versa. With Declan, Arsenal can do the same thing, they just need to find that perfect player to play alongside Rice.”

Rice revealed the main reason why he chose to join Arsenal instead of Manchester City last summer. Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, he said: "But this project [Arsenal] seemed more exciting and that's why I chose to come to Arsenal, because I believe we're on to big things here."

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