Declan Rice was keen to praise some of Tottenham’s young stars after their north London derby displays with Archie Gray among those to impress despite the defeat at the Emirates
Declan Rice poured praise of Tottenham’s teenage trio – some of whom stood up in a losing cause in the north London derby.
Arsenal edged out their arch rivals at the Emirates, coming back from an early Son Heung-min goal, but their midfielder was hugely impressed by the young talent he came up against. Archie Gray, a summer signing from Leeds, has showcased his versatility in recent weeks.
Despite shining as a midfielder at Elland Road the teenager has been deployed as a centre-half such is the injury situation at Tottenham, but has been a standout performer.
Lucas Bergvall, the Swedish midfielder, who scored the winner to see off Liverpool last week, came up against Rice and also left an impression whilst Mikey Moore, who didn’t play in the derby but has impressed this term, has also caught the eye of the Arsenal man.
He told TNT Sports : “I’m going to mention them, because they are Spurs players, but Archie Gray and Bergvall, they are both 18 as well and playing week in and week out, Mikey Moore as well. These guys in the Prem now, getting younger and younger and just have no fear. It’s great to see.”
Arsenal’s own teenage sensation, Myles Lewis-Skelly, has also been a huge success story this season at the Emirates. The young left-back has made himself a regular in the starting XI after just a matter of months and again impressed.
Lewis-Skelly is the latest academy graduate to get opportunities under Mikel Arteta and has repaid that faith with Rice comparing him to former Tottenham star Moussa Dembele.
He said: “Scary. I said to you [Peter Crouch] these 18-year-olds, they have no fear. They’ve got no fear whatsoever. There were four or five times in that second half, he’s got that Moussa Dembele trait, where he uses his body to get away from stuff…sometimes it’s risky, but to show that 18 and the personality and character, it’s unbelievable.”
Arteta was also quizzed on the teenager and said: “He was phenomenal today, he’s a real personality. He has an attitude about him, but to play against Kulusevski and Johnson is not easy. The way he handled the situation and the occasion was top.”
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