‘What is he?’ – Paul Scholes questions Arsenal star and ‘really boring’ Gunners

Paul Scholes has taken a swipe at ‘really boring’ Arsenal and questioned the role of England midfielder Declan Rice in Mikel Arteta’s team.

Despite not being at their very best this season, the Gunners are still involved in a third successive Premier League title challenge, currently six points behind leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal have also impressed in Europe, qualifying automatically for the Champions League knockout stages after finishing third in the revamped group phase.

But Scholes ‘really struggles’ watching Arsenal due to their lack of an out-and-out striker and Bukayo Saka’s continued absence through injury.

The former Manchester United and England midfielder also has growing concerns over Rice’s role in the Arsenal team and claims Arteta ‘doesn’t know what he is’.

Scholes’ comments on Rice may come as a surprise given the England star has widely been praised for another impressively consistent season at the Emirates Stadium and was the Player of the Match in Arsenal’s emphatic 5-1 win over Manchester City at the start of the month.

‘I’m really bored watching Arsenal,’ Scholes said on The Overlap. ‘Honestly, it’s the same thing every week.

‘Without a centre-forward and Saka who brings excitement and skill and can win a game… They beat Man City 5-1 but you need these big centre-forwards, these big-game players who can get you the 1-0 wins in important games.

‘I’m really struggling watching it. There’s some lovely football, it’s nice, but it’s not exciting, there’s nothing at the end of it.

‘Declan Rice, I’m not disappointed by him, but I don’t really know what he is anymore.

‘Is he the holding midfielder? I’ve heard Gary Neville say he should be getting forward and scoring goals. I’ve never seen him that way.

‘I think he’s almost got a bit stuck in not really knowing what he is and Mikel Arteta not knowing what he is.’

Arsenal have travelled to Dubai for some warm-weather training at a critical point in not just their season but perhaps also Arteta’s reign as manager.

The Gunners failed to reach the Carabao Cup final – losing 4-0 to Newcastle United across two semi-final legs – and are already out of the FA Cup.

That means they will need to overturn a considerable deficit on Premier League leaders Liverpool or win the Champions League to avoid going another season without a trophy.

Liverpool are currently six points above second-placed Arsenal but Arne Slot’s side will extend their advantage to nine if they win Wednesday’s Merseyside derby against Everton.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.